Learning to meet halfway
by Minooshka
Summary: Vincent plunges back into his former infiltrator work for the WRO, mostly to save a White Rose. Uncovvering Deepground secrets involving the Ex-Turks' genes. Valentine's nightmare seems never ending. -Currently in Hiatus but not abandoned!-. (M for Gore, Near-rape & Yuffentine)
1. Falling into habits (Prelude)

**Chapter 1: Falling into new habits**

**__****Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**

o0o

Post - Dirge of cerberus

"Prelude"

o0o

Shelke came to get him at Lucrecia's cave a week after defeating Omega.

... Like a newborn babe he'd been regurgitated from the lifestream. Exactly in the same way Cloud had been back within Aerith's church.

This body was new... but also his old one. It was very confusing. He felt himself healed in some way, but still sporting scars in others. Unable to make contact with anyone, since he'd lost his PHS. Lucrecia's cave itself though, had always been a second home to him. Luckily he had had a change change of cloths there, ammunition and some rations in it.

It was good timing on Shelke's part. When she arrived, he'd healed well enough to travel. She left him at Rocket Town soon after. Staying with RedXIII to live with the cat-like creature in Cosmo Canyon. The tech-savy genius within the child's body along with the bookworm feline worked splendidly well together. Both had appearances and bodies that clashed with their minds and would live longer lives than most. Vincent still had the impression he would also live a healthy number of year over the norm. Unlike the **forever** he'd once dreaded before.

Vincent was in Cid's debt. While he temporarily looked for a new appartment. His own apartment had been completely trashed by Deepground's assault in Kalm. He'd been staying with Shera and the pilot for the last week or so now. The former host to Chaos was making personal progress with his interactions with others...

At least he sincerely hoped he was!

Even going so far as 'drinking a coupl'a cold ones' as he'd promised Cid! To his surprise, he found out that alcohol affected him normally, whereas it hadn't had any effect at all before! It was a pleasant to spend his time imbibing the old poison with the pilot as company. Cid made a good drinking buddy! He was actually quite hilarious, and although Vincent hardly showed any mirth beyond a withheld chuckle... even while drunk. Cid had managed to get a few out of him surprisingly enough.

Like a toddler...

Vincent Valentine stumbled with this new body. He wasn't as strong, wasn't as fast, wasn't as nimble as before. Certainly he was a step above a normal human beings'. It was like learning to walk after living on the moon for years!

He jumped and couldn't reach heights he'd been able to before. He tried lifting things to help Cid in his repairs, failing that. He would look at his friend abashed. The middle-aged pilot laughed it off. It did make him feel better... minutely. He supposed it was for the best. Both the Pilot and Shera had some good times watching him falter discovering his body's limitations. It was entirely healthier to relearn in familiar company than stumble in a battle and get himself killed!

Eating was the newest awkward task for him.

He found his body still had certain... oddities. It puzzled him the first weeks before he found a balance to it. He didn't so much as eat as gorge! He felt entirely awkward and self-conscious and he'd contacted RedXIII about it. The catpointed out that he himself was carnivorous and gorged on great portions in one day without eating the next few, and no one else cared about his own eating habits!

After a very hearty meal that would make anyone's else's jaw drop. Vincent would sleep most an entire afternoon. Not needing to eat again at all for handfuls of days at a time. Vincent had done this about 3 times in the last 2 weeks. He chalked it off as a consequence of a body still the product of experiments. The pilot had even made jokes about him getting ready to hibernate or something along those lines. It was a testament to his new and improved character that he hadn't glared death towards the sandy blond for the comment.

He even took a few pounds, looking less like the living dead. Yes... it was all for the best.

o0o

End of the 2nd week

o0o

-Tada daaaa daaa Dunnn da da da !-

Vincent's eyes widened, halting mid-stride with a bag of bolts and sprockets in a brown paper bag, he almost spilled it's contents while he shifted its weight around to try and get to his PHS.

He was wearing casual cloths for once! A pair of loose fitting grey jeans and a black elbow-long sleeved shirt. A bandana still held back his wild hair away from his predatory-like ruby eyes. Thankfully, the removal of Chaos by the lifestream had other beneficial bodily changes; his pale colouring had improved to a healthy normal skin-glow. There was nothing that could be done about the eyes and the grafted metal claw appendage that marked him as... not quite fully human. His shirt sleeve was tucked into the elbow guard.

"..."

The gunman flicked the cell open, never had gotten into the habit of greeting people on them. The simple fact that the phone stopped dialling on the other side was indications enough for people to notice he'd picked up.

-"Vincent ?"-

"Cloud... it's been a while."

Conversations between the blonde leader and the raven haired member of Avalanche always started exactly the same way... It was almost humorous if it wasn't that the swordsman never did call him unless it was important.

-"Yeah..."-

A moment passed before the younger man continued

-"I did mentioned I'd call you with the results didn't I? If sins could be forgiven? "-

Vincent paused. That had been... what? 2 years ago?! His conversations with Strife were so few and far in between that he remembered it quite clearly. The conversation after he'd saved the blond from the Remnants. Cloud had seemed much happier and at ease after they had dealt with them. He hadn't bothered asking the obvious. Nor expected receiving an answer. Why the call now?

"I think I might have found that answer myself." He simply answered back.

Which was basically true. He felt as if an enormous burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He now accepted help from his friends. Starting with Yuffie, then Cid and RedXIII. He had been making remarkably fast progress in other regards.

-"Yeah. Finally tried?"- Came a bouncy response.

"Mmm." Vincent simple response was in the affirmative.

-"I'm glad."- Cloud's voice became more somber. -"You've been avoiding Reeve's calls."-

"The WRO shouldn't need me." The gunman replied, tone grave and obviously wary.

-"I beg to differ."- Cloud quickly countered, voice serious. -"I've been working my ass off! There's still some problems in Edge. Cleaning up, so to speak..."-

Vincent started walking again once the bag was properly tucked under his clawed arm and the PHS firmly pressed to his cheek.

-"Lady squirt's gotten in trouble again..."-

The gunman scoffed, a rare verbal response. He habitually never vocalized his opinion on events . Especially those concerning a certain Wutai princess.

-"Thought it'd be important for you to know... She's **in **Deepground."-

"... What ?" Vincent's question sounded unconcerned but truthfully, the revelation bothered him.

-"Yeah. Reeve's been trying to get a hold of you. He asked me to forward this info."- The blonde admitted on the other side of the line.

-"Vince..."- a hesitation on the blond's part, - "We can't do... certain things both of you two seem to have a knack for. Subterfuge being one. We've been taking care of things topside but I suggest you get in touch with Tuesti ASAP."-

Vincent paused a moment, considering if he wished to implicate himself so soon with the WRO after recuperating from (in all practicalities) 'death'.

He was tired of fighting for once. He had been fighting to redeem himself for so long... It was only recently that he realized that those battles had never truly been his to wage. A friend was involved... and frankly morally he'd feel terrible if something happened to her, knowing he could have helped.

"Alright, will do Strife."

-"Thanks, I'll see you in a bit... hopefully." -

-Click-

Cloud had closed his cell on the other side of the line and the ex-Turk arrived at Cid's house. Balancing the supplies, he made his way behind where the pilot was hands deep in salvaged airship guts. Vincent dumped the brown bag and supplies on one of the tool shelves.

"Hey! Alright, thanks Vince!"

Ignoring the nickname he left the pilot to hiswork. The gunman leaned back on a work table and flipped his cellphone back on. Taking a few moment to figure out how to take the contact-lock off Reeves' number he pressed 'call'.

-"Vincent?"-

"Director."

"WHAT?!" The sound of Cid hitting his head on a metallic object resounded through the cell's mic.

-"Vincent, I'm glad Cloud got a hold of you!"- He sounded incredibly worried on the line.

"What's this about Tuesti?" He asked more sternly than he had intended over the line.

Cid was, in the mean time, rubbing his head with greasy fingers and smudging engine oil into his hair. Where Reeves was concerned, there were always important matters. The pilot put away his tools while they talked.

-"Deepground monsters are still roaming above ground and nesting underneath Midgar. Cloud and Barret have been taking care of anything slipping through WRO lines to protect Edge but there seems no end to their numbers. Yuffie insisted in investigating conditions in the Deep."- Reeve paused hesitatingly. -"She didn't check in on time last evening."-

"..." Vincent understood procedures and that could only mean she'd been unable to, due to injury or worse... "I assume you want me to go in and find out what became of her?"

- "Knowing Yuffie, it might just be one a mishaps. She might have simply forgotten to check in. However I can't discount the possibility something might also have happened to her."-

Vincent grunted his displeasure and annoyance. The damn shinobi brat had gotten herself in trouble again and it was obvious that Tuesti didn't have any kind of operatives qualified enough to go in to find her.

- "We need you to find out what happened to Yuffie, can we count on you?"- The voice seemed pleading.

The Ex-Turk furrowed his brows annoyed at the others' tone. "Who do you think I am that I wouldn't help a friend?"

Had he been so cold in the past that they assumed he wouldn't?

-"Of course..." Reeves' tone suggested he'd actually been doubtful. Surprised at his outburst even! - "We'll wait for you at the base we set up near Midgar's Southeastern access gate. Cid has the coordinates. Make the best time you can! The longer we wait the less of a chance Yuffie has." -

"I know how these things work." Vincent rudely flipped the phone off, hanging on the WRO commissioner without a by-you-leave.

He wasnt an employee anyways... but he was one of his... friends. Now guilt started gnawing a bit at his irritation and then both were replaced for worry.

Cid hit his hands together, now gloveless. "Looks like we'll be doin sum flyin?"

The old pilot slipped a cigarette out of his breast pocket plopping it in his mouth, grinning all the while. The sandy blond liked flying and never really considered it to be work.

"Hmm." Vincent nodded. "Midgar."

"It's all fuckin fine and dandy t'me! Whats'it about?" He flicked his lighter and lit a smoke.

"Yuffie's in trouble again..." Vincent left for the back of the house to get ready.

"Yup! The world's still spinnin and workin as it should!" The pilot bit the filter of his cigrarette moving it around onto the side of his mouth as he spoke.

Cid Highwind said it more towards himself than anyone in particular. Looking up at the sky's he squinted at the odd new addition to the firmament; The silhouette corpse of Omega.

o0o

Author's notes (Oct 29): I just am getting re-acquainted with the story so corrected and polished it for the 5th time again! Hopefully my update will bring in some new reviews. I really like this story. Its one I've worked in my brain for a long time. I should finnish it after putting so much work into it.


	2. Experience is all

**Chapter 2: Experience is all**

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

**o0o**

They left shortly after the call in a small yet fast ship that resembled a modified Tiny-bronco.

Making good time to Midgar they arrived within 4 hours at the rendez-vous point near Edge. Vincent pulled off the breathing-aid mask before jumping out the cockpit. The old sandy blonde pilot occupied himself with doing engineer checks and the re-fueling procedures while the gunman went towards the communication cars and tents. He noticed Fenrir and Barret's Station-van parked nearby as well. After making enquiries WRO soldier for direction he was pointed to the founder of the organization's tent.

Vincent had left his cape behind at Lucrecia's cave. He now only wore his catsuit undercoat, his belts for his bullet cases and supplies and a new utility jacket he'd snatched in Rocket town. His footwear remained the same, as well as his right hand leather gloved hand. Though as modification he'd had the tips clipped so he could feel textures.

All-in-all a large change considering everyone was used to spotting him a mile away with his red cloak. The cloak had always been a symbol of Vincent's invitation of death, his burdens and literally the sins he carried on his back. Such a bright a visible red thing, cumbersomely heavy, was bound to make him visible to enemies. More times than not, it had almost gotten him killed.

He had once wished it fervently... once...long ago. He had discarded it. Permanently.

He walked in the commander's tent, greeted by his old comrades in arms. The new look and his very faint tan hadn't gone unnoticed. It was evident by Barret's reaction, almost a double take back and mouth agape, the muscular man said nothing... thankfully. Cloud hid his own reactins better, with just a slight lifting of his eyebrows. He remained seated, arms crossed, a leg propped over the other. Regardless of apparel, he had been right to have gone all-black for the mission ahead.

Reeve Tuesti gave him the run-through:

The monstrous mutations Shinra (and subsequently the Tsviets) had bred for their army were still holding up in the ruins of the city and Deepground. Though the WRO was going through exterminating them up-top thoroughly. They seemed to be never-ending in numbers.

Seemingly sprouting up from the city's underground at a constant rate. Yuffie, as the only spy-capable WRO personnel, had gone down to get a better sense of their numbers and elucidate on the reasons they kept appearing. It was then that communication was lost on the 2nd day of her operations down-below. This had been some 12 hours ago.

"So... you want me to find a ninja? Not an easy task you're asking of me Tuesti."

Reeve plopped down on a seat after finishing the briefing, obviously exhausted.

"I'm sure the great Vincent Valentine can manage, you forget I have access to all of Shinra's report files... I know what you are capable of. You were involved deeply before the Wutai wars..."

"Hmm." The gunman harrumphed, insulted. Slightly agravated that Reeve had revealed another piece of his background to other members of AVALANCHE.

He started to fall back into his old attitudes and personality of his Turk days. You revealed the least possible about yourself... and the least people have to hold you ransom or bribe you with... as the Director had just done.

Everyone, especially Cid who spent the most time with him, had noticed. Vincent Valentine no longer stayed silent on important matters. He didn't brood as much and had to voice his opinions on a few things, whereas before, he kept a tight reign on his emotions. It was understood that his closed-off personality was to prevent them from triggering his multiple transformations.

He had found after defeating OMEGA that 2 of his split personalities (or demons as he called them) were buried deeper in his subconscious. He doubted they would surface other than from anything short of a life-death situation. Old habits die hard... he still fell into long contemplative silences.

Otherwise, he had very much improved his communication with others... well sort of.

"Any supplies you need which we have, we'll pack them for you. Before you go I'll give you her last rendez-vous check-point location." Reeve finished.

As if on queue an assistant brought a clip-board to start writing down a list of supplies for him. Within almost half an hour he was ready with a light supply-bag. For once, he was actually eager to start a mission!

He replace his usual gun-arsenal with a silenced hand-pistol, a throwing knife and a longer fighting dagger strapped to thigh hilts. He wrapped a utility belt across his chest under his jacket with some medicines, materia and a transceiver if he needed to signal the WRO.

This task required silence, accuracy and subtlety. From the briefing, these creatures would flock to any commotion or smell of blood. If he could avoid the 'Deepdogs' as they'd called them, he would be able to move faster through the city's depths and find Yuffie Kisaragi.

He left lightly packed, ready for a full subterfuge mission. Something he hadn't done professionally for a long time. Feeling confident he'd learnt enough about the limites of his new body to find the 'damsel' in distress.

o0o

Deepground looked like something from a horror movie!

If he'd first thought the slums of Midgar were bad, the city's underground was 10 times worse. Festering water poisoned with mako fumes and other chemicals pooled in some areas. Submerging some buildings in others. Some of the power plants' wires and connections converters sparked incessantly. Creating odd lighting and the illusion of shadowy creatures jumping at every corners.

The people or 'things' that lived here were not really able builders...

Some perhaps... but not others. There were areas of the Deepground complex that literally resembled metallic hives. Strung metal nests of pipes, plates and tunnels dug into the actual rocks made Midgar's secret Deepground city an almost gigantic ant hive. One which had taken over half of the underground city. The more complex building had probably been lived in by the more humanoid inhabitants, the central tower area by the elites Tsviets.

Jumping down and using his metal claw in crevices and cracks of the sewer conduit. Vincent climbed down till the end opened suspended about 40ft up from another solid structures.

He observed the faintly glowing outlines of the city with feline eyes. He now considered ... his enhancements sense. He'd cursed them before, but it felt like that had been another life-time. He was considering changing his opinion on the Lifestream's decision of not returning him to complete humanity. Otherwise he would not be able to do what he was doing now. That was... without using specialized gear like night-vision goggles!

Estimating the 40ft (15m) drop wasn't too dangerous for his weaker body, Vincent dropped down. Landing and rolling to limit the impact and noise. That had been... bracing! His leg muscles hurt minutely. He paused, listening to the eerie fetid underground winds for signs that he'd been noticed.

Cautiously the ex-Turk remained on full alert, following the curvature of a half crumpled building he found a window at ground level and checked inside. Finding it clear, he quickly climbed into the building. Constantly aware of his surroundings and listening for signs of movement, Vincent tried to unpack without looking at what he was doing, his head up and watching out the window. The scanner was in his hand soon afterwards and he moved towards the sill's edge.

Light would attract creatures if there were any around and he quickly scanned for life forms. Finding a few odd mako-infused ones but no human readings. Yuffie had a receiver which would pick up if he was at a certain range. With all the electronic interference and mako fumes, the reading distance would be short range. The gunman planned to tri-angulate his readings every couple of hundred feet or so to try and pick it up.

Speaking of mako, the place stank wretchedly of the stuff. A mixture between sickly sweet ozone and turpentine. He was used to it, though it reminded him of the Shinra mansion's laboratories. The thought occurred to him that the shinobi might get mako poisoning if she remained in certain areas too long. A notion popped into his mind that it might have actually been the case! He discarded it and went back to work.

Hypothesis were hypothesis...

"Damnit Yuffie... You better be still be alive!" He mumbled silently under his breath.

He surprised himself in his own verboseness and concern towards the younger women.

He reflected on the small stinging ping that worked under his chest and throat at the thought of finding her dead. Feeling nostalgic doing purely Turk work.

Since his awakening by the members of AVALANCHE his fighting style had changed drastically from before the experiments. He would take greater risks. Inviting death even! Attacking directly, ducking out of the way of blows at the last moment. Taunting fate.

He hadn't noticed it before. Now, someone was counting on him and his skills in not attracting attention from the denizens. Especially if she was injured.

Vincent only needed to draw and use his pistol once during his search. He'd finally picked up a trace of the Wutain's beacon and was following it when he encountered one of the Deepdogs in his path, running away from the signal. Apparently already injured. It had never known what hit it before it lost it's life to a silenced bullet.

Closing in, he found traces of a battle and a few enemy corpses. Suddenly aware of the smell of acrid smoke and burning. Picking up the pace he ran rounding a square of buildings and was confronted with a large burning structure.

_'Damn !'_

The signal was in it!

If the transmitter was still active, the delicate machinery was still intact and working and so there were good chances she was alive. The building seemed recently put on fire, perhaps purposefully. Coughing slightly at the fumes, Vincent made a quick decision and gambled. His body was unknown to him... he'd only had 2 or so weeks to get used to it. Chaos, almost indestructible was indeed gone. Whatever other creature Hojo had put into him were still there in some measure... He just hoped those modifications would be enough to get him through to Yuffie and back out alive.

Vincent quickly ran and scouted the building, looking for an entry that didn't look as caught in the blaze. Picking up momentum he charged into one. He passed an initial wall of flames, licking around the door's frame and was confronted with a new problem.

His hair had caught fire!

Thinking fast he unsheathed the knife from his thigh and cut cleanly through his locks over his neckline, the horrible stench of burning hair reached his nostrils and some wispy strands stuck on his metal claw. He felt burns on his cheek and the back of his neck while he continued to move at a fast pace, following signs of battle in almost a trance state.

Like a detective he played back events in reverse, following the signs of battle back to her. Turning left and right through the building's halls and half crumbled areas. There were Deepdog corpses everywhere, the fire was gaining strength behind him. He ran a flight of stairs which was covered in dripping blood, almost loosing his footing on the slick steps.

He found her Shurinken stuck into a wall.

Studying it briefly he noted the side it had planted in and groove marks, calculating the direction it had been thrown. Ripping the 'Conformer' from the wall he ran in that direction. He passed another Deepdog that had been felled by a throwing star. At the end of this corridor was a half broken door which he lept onto. Hoisting himself over it. There, in the back of the room was a collapsed white shrouded figure, huddled in a semi-fetal position. Her left leg twisted at an impossible angle with white bone sticking out. Obviously broken.

"Yuffie!"

The figure trembled, tried to lift itself up, collapsed and stopped moving. Passed out... he hoped it was only that.

Vincent ran towards the young women, lifted the ridiculous Mog-veil off to make sure she had no head injury and that she was indeed still alive before moving her. Foul Mako laced smoke started to seep in the room and sting his eyes. He quickly opened his pack and drew out a rope halter. Placed her as fast and as secure he could in the body carrier. Hoisting the small ninja onto his back as best he could without further damaging her leg until he could use both hands. Strapping her shurinken on a belt loop at his side, he wagered it would bounce around some, but not enough to hinder his progress. It was a family heirloom to the Kisaragi after all and precious to her.

He could feel the heat coming from downstairs. The fire had reached the corridor and as he struggled past the half-collapsed door. It surrounded them in a blazing inferno. Vincent lifted his metal claw up, despairing of ever getting them both out alive. His cool tempered nerves neared a dangerous panicking point. A familiar sensation of elation crawled up from deep within him. It started as a throbbing in his left clawed arm, shot to the pit of his stomach and commenced a very well known transformation.

'Dear Shiva! Not now!'

Vincent bent over, and he pulled and loosened the straps on the harness to permit the metamorphosis. His gums and mouth started to water and he knew he was turning into the hybrid wolf known as the Galian beast. The ninja still strapped to his back gave no indication of returning to consciousness soon.

As the ex-Turk moved, it felt like a muddle dream. As if he'd consumed too much alchool... He was aware of one thing: He rather liked the heat! Liked it alot in fact! It no longer bothered him as much. However he was still aware of the importance of fleeing the building before it crumbled. Bending on all 4s, the Galian charged forward through the burning hallway, down the flame-licked stairs and burst through the structure as the entrance he had used crumbled momentarily afterwards. The creature Vincent had become panted and was aware of a rope halter and a weight on it's back. Which it didn't like at all! It slashed at them and Yuffie's body collapsed unto the concrete. The galian turned, slightly surprised that the burden it had released from it's shoulders was a living thing.

Vincent was half-lucid through all of this. This transformation was different than before. He wasn't as... disconnected. The beast-man had the odd impression of knowing the name of this human. He smelled it. It smelt pleasant, a female. The blood was not alluring though... she would die of these injuries soon.

_'Die? No!'_

It was the realization that he needed to take care these wounds that forced the Galian back into slumbering. It felt like waking up unpleasantly after being thrown water in your face. Like a short night's sleep. Once Vincent was back into his own human body he was disoriented for momentarilly, his clawed arm throbbed with the last vestiges of the transformation before he remembered...

"Yuffie!"

He was truly frightened then. There weren't many situations, creatures, monsters or otherwise that had been able to rattle out emotionally from him. That his friend might die though...

Vincent wasn't a complete dunce in biology and first aid. As a Turk he needed a chemists' knowledge to kill with poisons, incapacitate and save people effectively. Unfortunately, Yuffie's complete fracture was beyond his ability to repair. He could do nothing other than immobilize it so it wouldn't worsen or bleed internally as much.

It looked horrible! But it was thankfully a clean horizontal break with very little splintering along the lines of her tibia. With surgery it would be reset back properly and she would not have any walking dissabilities. If she woke up now though... she'd be in great pain! He couldn't use any curative magic without the bone being set first or he might actually handicap her permanently.

Vincent finished setting the splint with the remainder of his gauze, then wrapped the leg within her mog cloak. The thing had luckily prevented the young women from being burnt while he hadn't been in his right mind as the Galian.

The fire was warding off creatures in the area. He quickly found another building some distance away from it in full view of the inferno to treat Yuffie without endangering them unwaringly from its spread. Once hefinished tending to her, he activated his own beacon. The chances that anyone could pick it up from here were slim.

Slim yes... but anything was better than nothing.

He took out his knife and cut his hair furthur so that the loose and longer ends wouldn't annoy him as he thought about the next step towards bringing back his target.

Huh... target! How cold of him to think of his friends in such a manner?! At least he was aware of the slip up and mentally berated himself for it.

He glanced back at Yuffie. What had gotten into the girl to accept such a dangerous mission alone!? Sure... Reeve might not have any other operatives who could pick up the job but... still.

Looking at the girl now he was again struck at how slim and petite she was. Almost vulnerable. Especially vulnerable now that she was effectively hurt. She groaned, Vincent sighed. Preparing for the inevitable.

"What? Where am I?"

She groaned again, this time in obvious pain. "#$&?% damn it hurts like a #$?$!*%?" Yuffie definitely spent too much time with Cid...

"Take it easy, don't move. I have some water, drink."

He shuffled closer to her, taking out a clean flask from his bag as he did. She opened her eyes. Her gaze was unfocused and unseeing in such low light conditions. Reaching out she contacted his good hand and found the water, guiding it with shaky hands to her mouth and he helped her drink.

"Who?... Who are you?"

She was frightened, understandably. Couldn't see clearly... nor hear very well... Probably in shock. He shifted closer to the window-sill where the light of the burning structure illuminated the interior better.

"It's me Vincent."

The ninja, constantly grimacing in pain, squinted again.

"Liar! Vincent has long hair and cloak!"

She stuck out a tongue half-heatedly. Though he could tell she was making a monumental effort in kidding. Those red-eyes of his were a dead giveaway.

"What happened to your sexy locks ?"

The gunman foraged into his bags. Finding a shot of strong painkillers in the first aid kit, he gave her back the water flask and gave her a shot with the syringe. He pretended he hadn't heard the suggestive description of his hair.

"An unfortunate encounter with the insides of a burning building."

The young woman let out a half strained chuckle, feeling the morphine taking effect. "I must be really messed up something bad for you to be making a joke Vince!"

She had obviously noticed the splint and was trying to ignore the pain coming from it. Vincent put away everything into the bag and strapped it to his front.

"I'm getting you out of here." He salvaged the rope from the slashed haulter and started making a second carrier.

"Ugh! I'm so embarrassed!" She moaned, feeling helpless.

Keeping her voice lower than was her custom. Perfectly aware of their vulnerable situation. Vincent kept a weary eye and ear outside and periodically stopped to observe their surroundings.

Deepground reminded him of Gongaga. Those dangerous jungles, hiding lethal venomous creatures. The gunman's gaze slid back to Yuffie who was currently performing breathing exercises to remain conscious and lucid as he worked. She had all the signs of mako poisoning. Her skin had turned a pasty grey and her brown eyes were a slight grey glazing over. She'd probably inhaled fumes or been in contact with contaminated water at some point.

"The great white rose of wutai carried out like a baby!" She whined.

Vincent scoffed, which surprised the ninja who wasn't at all accustomed to the ex-Turk making any kind of noise-comment. He usually ignored her whining.

"Be thankful it's not in a body-bad. You came very close to it." He tied a last strand of nylon rope on the halter which resonated with a plastic zip-tie like sound in the dead silence of the room.

Using some ply-wood debris hanging around the condemned building, he made sure her leg was solidly immovable and wove the harness around her. Thankfully she was much shorter than him so her legs wouldn't jostle on the floor unless he crouched. He was as careful as possible hoisting her up.

She was a brave little thing... with a minimal amount of complaint about the pain, other than a sharp intake of breath. Circling her arms around his neck he passed both arms around the harness, pulling the slack out of the rope hoisting her up sharply as he went to a standing position.

"Gee Vince! I hadn't realized till now how tall you were!" She was obviously delirious and slurred somewhat. Trying to stay awake.

He made sure his silenced pistol and dagger where still within reach. Otherwise he'd use his left claw to protect them. He also still had her shurinken on his hip.

She weighed only around 120 lbs. With his bag and gear he carried 160lbs or so. He was loosing mobility and manoeuvrability and it felt like a heavy load. A regular grown would have had to sacrifice some gear to carry her. He was again surprised silently being thankful for his modified oddness. He was pretty sure that his muscles would still disagree... alot!... at the end of this. He was already tired from his transformation.

"Going to start moving now Yuffie, try and keep quiet as best you can."

She scoffed. Most probably thinking that he'd meant it as an insult! She'd been called a loudmouth numerous times before by the others in AVALANCHE.

He felt her head on his shoulder nod in acquiescence. Tired, obviously. Sick, probably. Loosing blood and in shock? Definitely. He jumped to the window's sill startling her with his ease. Scanning the building's surrounding before shuffling down, mindful of heré The leg was problematic, the wound could start bleeding as he moved and jostled her. With her mako poisoning... he had very little time to get her to the WRO's medics.

"Prty.. your shtrong too..." She kept slurring, even worse now.

He kept moving, sacrificing vigilance for speed, trying to regain the tunnel he remembered dropping from. Hopefully the beacon could be picked up from that position and Cloud and other soldiers from the WRO would pick up on it. Otherwise he'd have to find some other way out.

His burden couldn't take much longer travelling, he was already impressed at Yuffie's hardiness. Especially since she remained conscious... maybe it was because of the drugs.

"Vincent ?" She lifted her head, he could feel her shaking

"Hmm?"

"I wish I was strong... I hmm... just like you."

That last phrase came out clearer than the rest. The statement meant so many different things for the gunman. Like him! A freakish experiment? Like him as an assassin? Liked him. As in personally as a person? Or was she referring to liking his strong personality or character?

He wasn't strong... not at all. He was a coward mostly...

He thought he fled most of his life. Just like he was fleeing the possibility that she might not make it! Busying himself in finding a way out. He had never used his physical strength for anything other than vengeance.

Now at this very moment, he had a precious burden that counted on him...

_'The tunnel!'_

"Hang on Yuffie!" Did his voice just break right now? He didn't think she'd noticed as delirious as she was. She might have actually fallen unconscious again. Especially since there was a lack of a response.

He ran underneath the overdrop and paused. Thinking for a moment. He then hastefully rummaged through his chest belt and brought out a flare gun. Vincent knew fully well that the moment he used it... it would attract Deepdogs.

He had no choice!

Twisting the cartridge in place he pointed it upwards. With years of experience and shot the flare up the pipe. The flare whistled loudly banged up the sides of some narrow spaces, but still kept climbing. He immediately dropped the flare gun and took out his own pistol. Silencer still attached, he twisted it off so that the tip wouldn't overheat and jam. Finding himself cover he easedYuffie out of the way in a more defensible position. If they didn't smell her blood over his own sweat, he would protect her till help arrived.

He waited...

And then, they came!

* * *

_Author's notes:_

_October 30 update... ugh its midnight! Still correcting and getting into the flow of the story. Its so odd re-reading something after years of having published it. _


	3. People don't know themselves

Learning to meet halfway.

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 3: People don't know themselves.

* * *

o0o

He was down to his last clip of bullets.

Worse came to worse, he still had his knife. If he ran out of mp using materia, he would fight tooth and nail for the girl. He'd already had to ward off some in melee with his claw.

Yuffie was too young to die! He didn't care if he died protecting her.

He'd almost seen a century now and much more than most people should ever have to see or experience in their lifetime. She had her whole life in front of her and he would keep at it that way.

The longer things went like this...

The less it seemed like the flare had been spotted. The gunman, despite concentrating on picking off the Deepdog and denizens of the Midgar underground, was still rummaging through his brain for a way out of this situation. Everyone of them involved keeping Yuffie alive.

She was still safely tucked behind his shoulder, her ears would probably be ringing from his gunshots by now. He was used to phasing them out.

"Vince..." He barely was able to hear her call his name.

He'd thought she had passed out a while ago. During a pause in his firing he was able to answer.

"What ?"

He felt her arm shacking lifted and pointed somewhere. Following with his ruby red gaze he saw figures dropping down from the sewer tunnel he'd shot the flare through.

Just as he did, WRO soldiers rounded the corner. Thanks to Yuffie he hadn't shot any of them on reflex. Vincent was panting and sweating profusely and his hands shackilly lowered the gun as those soliders who reached them secured the area, pushing back the Deepdogs. Actually... he was near collapse! He'd reached the limit of this body apparently.

The gunman was almost at the point where he didn't have the strength left to keep carrying Yuffie towards a medical gurney the WRO soldiers provided. Managing somehow, in a trance, he was lifted out as soldiers protected their retreat. He was thankfully only wounded superficially. Sporting a few burns which were treated by medics on sight.

Time blurred and although he'd fought in worse situations... Somehow... the whole events of the last few hours seemed to have drained him more than just physically.

He'd never felt this emotionally tired before.

A few hours later, Cloud passed by at some point to check up on him. The gunman was seated in a chair, letting events pass him by. His muscles protesting any extra activity. Not exactly sure what to do and confused as hell by how he felt. Wasn't he a hero again today? He'd gotten his target out alive hadn't he?

There was that word again, 'target'.

"You ok?"

Vincent lifted his ruby red eyes, no longer framed by his trademark long locks of raven hair. He probably looked like hell! Now that he thought about it... His hair half burnt, sweat dripping down his dirty face. The sensation of liquid was odd on his forehead. He hadn't sweat since... he couldn't remember!

"Mmm..."

He tried to make it sound like an affirmation. It ended up sounding like a hollow note instead. Cloud knelt down, re-arranging his assortment of swords at his hip so he could do so.

"Squirts gonna be alright they say. Though the Mako poisoning's done a number on her. Cid's lifted her off to get her to a hospital."

Strife was trying to assuage his fears but only lifted a tiny amount of the heavyness that was troubling him.

"Mmm...alright." Vincent felt numb.

He had responded wheras before he would have kept deadly silent.

Nothing Cloud was saying was snapping him out of the odd stupor he'd fallen into. Dare he admit it he was... in shock? Impossible!

He'd seen and been through so much worse. Cloud's aqua blue eyes squinted. The blonde was perceptive enough, he wouldn't have been their leader if he hadn't.

" You're not alright." He stated. Rolling on his heels and plopping down into a full seated position. "Whassup Vincent?"

"I..."

Truly how did he feel? Afraid. Afraid of what? What ifs?

This was the only time in his memory one of his friends had actually asked him to verbalize something he kept inside. Cloud had once called him cold and aloof.

Then he had his answer. "I'm afraid I've become weaker..."

Cloud looked at him oddly. Propped his arm on a knee and held a side of his face in a gloved hand pensively. "You mean with Chaos gone?"

Vincent shook his head. "I don't know myself anymore... It unsettles me."

There was a long silence then, neither man spoke. If there was anyone who could understand him, it was Cloud. Both had been through similar circumstances. They had changed from what they had been originally, both experiments to the same mad minds and pawns to the larger game played by ShinRa. Their paths to redemption had followed different roads but they'd gotten their long sought forgiveness.

"I think... I understand what your going through." The blond finally spoke. "But really Vincent, I don't think anyone knows themselves very well." The swordsman got up, swords clanging as he did, dusting the back of his half-skirt.

"Other people know us sometimes... better than we do ourselves. You should ask them their opinions." He added the last part as a tentative suggestion.

"Is...?" The gunman ventured, he'd never been really forthright with asking personal things to anyone. "Is letting people get close to me supposed to... feel like this?"

Vincent was vague on what 'this' was. He'd never thought that letting your guard down and people get close to you could affect him so much physically. He hated this.

Cloud looked up a moment in thought. "Sometimes... it varies from person to person."

The ex-Turk wanted to fall into his old habits and shut himself up again... Closing he eyes he shook his head to his own mental debate. He'd made a promise to someone that he would keep trying to reach out!

Cloud looked back down and caught his eyes.

"I know it's not the best time to give you this news. But I never know when I'll talk or see you again. I might as well..." The blond's serious face cracked into a goofy half-smile.

"I proposed to Tifa."

The raven haired man's eyes widened in surprise. Somehow it snapped the stupor out of him fairly well. He was thankful Cloud changed the subject.

"What? When?! Congratulations Strife!"

The gunman didn't exactly smile, but his dark mood and expression lightened. He look ed sincere. The goofy smile on the blonde widened exponentially and the swordsman rubbed the back of his head self-consciously. Getting such an enthusiastic response out of the morose gunman was kind of... strange! Flattering. Completely outside of his experience on how Vincent normally reacts!

"Yeah...at the Omega party. We waited as long as we could for you to show up. We believed it when Shelke insisted you were alive. You know the others... they wanted to throw something to celebrate."

Vincent had one of those sad brooding looks of his.

"Ah don't worry about missing that Vincent! You're obviously invited at the wedding and uh... I had something to ask you... actually."

The gunman was cheered up substantially and felt much better. Burns, short hair and cuts not-withstanding.

He nodded.

"Yeah... Um...would you be my best man?"

Vincent's eyes shot open wide. "You're not serious are you?"

Cloud laughed. "Absolutely, why not?"

"Why me?" The gunman questioned back.

"Not allowed to answer with a question! I'll answer it anyways though." Cloud shifted his weight on one foot, facing the gunman.

"We've been through alot. Shared some similar hurts. We've helped each other get out of our own man-made hells. I like to think so anyways..." The blonde paused. "I'd like it to be you. No... I want it to be you. It's my way of showing you my gratitude for all you've done."

Vincent lowered his head in thought for a very short moment. He could have chosen Barrett... He had known him longer. But... why just not accept that he'd been chosen for the reasons the younger man had enumerated and leave it at that.

"I accept then Cloud."

"Awesome! I'm on a first name basis! " The blonde joked and grinned at the older man, finally standing up straight instead of shifting. It was at that point Vincent noticed that Strife had actually been nervously uncomfortable asking him.

The gunman strode confidently towards the commanding tent. "Where you going?"

"To scold Tuesti..." The Ex-Turk answered.

"You know it's not his fault right?" Cloud hesitated questioning Vincent's motivations, always.

"It's not about that..."

The sword wielder frowned, puzzled. Leaving it at that.

o0o

"You're going to give me candidates for training."

Vincent said in his usual very monotonous and cold tone, leaving no place for argument.

"I beg your pardon Valentine?" Reeves blinked a few times, confused to what this was about. Actually the commander was slightly worried...

Vincent looked like hell.

Which wasn't too far from the truth! Considering what had gone down underneath Midgar. He'd never seen the gunman so badly hurt and haggard. Cait Sith was currently seated on a table holding satellite map of the ruins of midgar and looking at the black-clad man with about the same expression as his controller.

"You had no infiltration units that could have gone in with Kisaragi. She was sent on a mission that was obviously to dangerous to be done alone without backup."

He was roilingly mad inside as he said it. However he managed to get it out in only a terse factual tone rather than one of accusation. He had been a Turk once... It was layers upon layers of old habits which helped him remain quasi-professional talking to Reeve despite his inner turmoil.

"I'm going to remedy that so you won't have to rely on me and put both of us in that dangerous position again."

Cait Sith fell forward from the table to the floor and cursed as it got back up. Reeve's expression of utter bafflement giving a clue as to the cause of the mechanical toy's malfunction. The feline looked up at Vincent and made an odd roiling cat noise before adding in an off-Irish accent.

"Well that takes care o' a littl' pickle don it?!"

The cat looked back at it's linked creator. The Ex-turk had always wondered how the two of them worked synchronized and off-synch as they did.

Was an aspect of his personality programmed at it's base or had Reeves been experimented on as well? Was the link-up purposefully controlled and was he just being particularly psychotic addressing himself as it seemed he was doing right now?

It would remain a mystery! He wouldn't pry since Tuesti wouldn't tell. Shiva knew! Everyone deserved their own secrets.

"Yes, it certainly does seem like you've taken care of some of my problems. Considering... what Yuffie found in Deepground."

"What?" Vincent hadn't been at the debrief.

"Yuffie had recorded her findings in a pad-log which she carries with her. She found the cause of the incessant numbers of Deepdogs."

Reeves pushed some papers away from the table as Cait Sith wagged it's tail enthusiastically. Mirroring the excited mood of it's creator.

"Ah here it is!" The WRO commander flicked the device connected to a setup computer monitor in the tent.

Vincent wasn't exactly sure what he was looking at.

The Wutain shinobi had been walking quickly through what seemed to be some kind of medical facility. The footage wasn't clear and had some static in it, squinting he tried to make out the surroundings.

-Woah!-

He heard her say on the video log. That was when he saw the holding tanks, finally realized what he was looking at.

"A cloning facility!"

Vincent lost any colour from his face which he had gained recuperating with Cid. These types of holding tanks featured prominently in many of his nightmares when he dared to ... sleep.

"Yes, exactly. I've been thinking for a while now on how to destroy this facility without re-employing Yuffie or your help. 'You-know-who' would have been fine. Except, this facility is rather large from this intelligence. It would require more explosives than he could carry."

The toy huffed seemingly mock-offended that Reeve spoke about him without the courtesy of naming or addressing him directly. For a brief moment another theory emerged in Vincent's head that this duality could also very be a humorous coping ploy the WRO commander used to deal with stress.

"So the plan would be to infiltrate the compound and place detonation devices in specific areas to destroy it." Reeve nodded but his frown deepened.

"No offence Valentine but I can't ask you to do that just now. From what I've been told you were injured badly from getting Yuffie out and your regenerative abilities aren't what they used to be."

The commander fell back into a chair, visually exhausted.

"We're just going to have to try and find their exit points and seal as many as possible for as long as possible until you're fit to take the mission and/or you've trained others sufficiently to attempt it."

Vincent was about to argue but the WRO commander lifted a hand indicating he wasn't finished.

"I'm not calling your abilities into question Valentine... But I've had two of my dearest friends barely make it out alive on one of my errands. Please?"

It was then the Vincent realized the pained strain in the other man's voice and he observed him more closely. He sometimes forgot that the mechanical Cait Sith had fought just like the rest of them to save the world... It was easy to detach the controlled from the controller.

The theory that the humorous Cait Sith personality and spunk was a coping mechanism for Reeve was becoming more solid as he spent time with the former Shinra board executive of housing thought about it further...

This man had never lead an army before now.

He was a bureaucratic paper pusher and had put himself in a position where he had to deal with losses in large numbers. People died during wars...

Reeve needed to learn to cope with this new facet of working as the head of the WRO. The Ex-Turk softened the serious expression on his own face and changed his tone to something more familiar.

"Alrighty... Reeve."

The other man sighed and put his face in his hands. "You don't know how horribly guilty I feel putting her in danger like that in the first place!" Cait Sith waddled to his creator and patted him on the back to reassure him, It didn't seem to be working much.

Vincent blinked. "You do what you need to do for the sake of us all. I've been..." He thought about it a moment. "... callous and selfish it seems. Turk habits. Forgive me?"

The commander lifted his head and rubbed his beard in a nervous emotional gesture. Trying to keep it together administratively, militarily and logistically when no one else would . Knowing no one else would be competent to do so. The man was wrung out and Vincent had just yanked Reeve when he was as tired after dealing with Deepground as much as he was with Omega. Although he'd had 2 weeks of R&R.

The tall gunman approached the other akwardly and placed his gloved hand on the other's shoulder. He felt odd doing this... wasn't this what friends did though? Comfort each other? He wasn't sure... The other wasn't pulling away though, which was, he supposed, a good thing.

"I understand, I'll take care of it..."

He left the commander's tent to tend to his new job.

Training the rookies.

* * *

Dec 04 Re-editing a few things. Corrected a few typos. Becoming acquainted with old material! (The works)


	4. Burried burdens of guilt

Learning to meet halfway.

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 4: Buried burdens of guilt.

* * *

o0o

The 2nd degree burns he'd suffered before turning into the Galian were still tender. They had boiled into painful fluid-filled bubbles which clot along his neck and a part of his cheek. Just this once, Vincent missed his supernatural regenerative abilities of his higher alter-ego Chaos. The burns were healing faster than normal because of Galian's fire affinity... however not fast enoug to avoid the discomforting itching entirely.

He'd received the whole files and background list of WRO soldiers and personnel working for the organization and had kept the black bag he'd brought with him down bellow. He hitched a ride with Cloud back to Edge. The future-to-be 'Strife' family offered him a place to stay in the 7th Heaven temporarily. He offered Tifa his congratulations and greeted both Marlene and Denzel enthusiastically who looked at him concerned at his out-of-character greeting as well as his bedraggled appearance but said nothing about either. He went straight to work looking over those files.

It was early in the evening. As a consequence, the bar was devoid of it's usual patrons. Vincent took a whole table to himself to go through the documents.

"Can I get you anything Vincent ?"

The Ex-Turk looked up from his work and offered the young women a slight very rare yet extremely sincere smile of gratitude.

"Coffee would do. Black?"

She winked at him and went to make some.

Frankly, he was trying to forget about the Yuffie-incident. He was incredibly concerned about the young ninja... She had seemed so frail, weak, damaged. She had bled so very very much...

He had never been overly concerned about co-workers when he'd been a Turk before! Always, keeping a professional façade.A wall between himself and everyone else. This tough-guy image he had of himself had crumbled in recent days and events. His best efforts to let others in was also killing these pre-conscieved notions he had of himself as a person. He was looking for... What Shalua had said to him once; 'His reason to live'. Presently he knew he fought for his friends. One was injured and he couldn't do anything about it. The other was stressed and overworked.

So he endeavoured to help with what he could. The coffee Tifa served him was nice and bitter and helped him minutely to continue to work. He put 2 candidate files on the side. He'd decided to only accept 4 to train. Since he'd gone through almost half of the files. None of the WRO soldiers seemed chosen for being observant, meticulous, nimble and able to improvise. Mostly military standards: dutiful, punctual, physically fit, able to follow orders and schedules... The typical regular grunt soldiers.

Thinking on this. He thought of the present members of the Turks under ShinRa: Tseng, Elena, Reno and Rude. Tseng seemed to have the true qualities, making and training of the old Turk faction. The one he remembered serving under at least...

He sighed quietly as was his habit to do in his cloak. However, he didn't have one to hide within anymore. It left it's lips unencumbered and the exasperation seemed overly loud to his own ears. Vincent glanced at the clock, noticed it was getting on the late-side and simultaneously let his surroundings register again. There were a few patrons coming in. He'd truly immersed himself in his work! He added a 3rd file on the side and scooped the rest into his bag. Scratching his head with his good hand he stiffled a yawn. Tifa came to his table again.

"You know, Vincent. I know a good hairdresser that could take care of that for you..." She waved a hand at her own hair but was obviously referring to his own lost cause. "Maybe you should take a shower and eat a little something afterwards?" She picked up the coffee cup and washed the table after him. It was her queue to him that he should probably take a break.

He was sure both Cloud and Tifa had been concerned about him taking so little time to rest or even to recuperate after Yuffie's rescue. They had been both polite and given him some space and breathing space to think. Truthfully he did feel like shit! He'd rarely felt as bad as he did now... It surprised him. He'd been able to go without sleep or food for days at a time for so many years it had become a habit. He truly no longer knew his limits anymore.

"Thanks Tifa, I will." Deciding to take the advice he stood up. Surprised at how unsteadily wobbly he actually felt.

She smiled. "We have some towels at the end of the corridor and I'll get you some clean cloths from Cloud's. I don't think you brought anything spare to wear ?"

He nodded and tiredly smiled. For once he just wanted to collapse and sleep! Especially grateful for the kindness of friends.

o0o

The next day around midday he took up Tifa's offer of a haircut.

The woman who tended his burnt locks was quite happily boasting about having fixed the hair of 3 of the 9 AVALANCHE heroes! He let the hairdresser yak away and remained silent throughout the session. His mind on other things... Absent mindedly blowing onthe pieces of hair that fell onto his nose. Warding off the constantly impending sneezes the wayward locks threatened him with!

"There you are Mr. Valentine!"

Vincent finally payed attention to the larger mirror in front of him and gave himself a quick check. Startled by the short cropped hair! He looked like he had a very long time ago... All except the soft hazelnut eyes where now bloodshot red.

"Thank you..." He responded. Uncertain and blinking. Things were definitely changing fast, he hardly recognized himself!

o0o

"Nice haircut!"

"..." Vincent shifted his weight which caused a board in the 7th heaven floor to creak softly.

Cloud was in a good mood and had one of those half-smiles that was typically the spiky haired man's version of laughter. He had a thoughtful hand on his chin looking Vincent up and down.

"You know... no one would recognize you if you didn't still have that clawed gauntlet on."

"... Thanks ? I suppose." Vincent said uncertainly. generating a chuckled from the other at his expense.

"I have to go pick-up some things for Reeves. Did you want to pass by the WRO command tent or stay at the 7th?"

What the blonde really meant (the raven haired man could read him), was that he should actually stay and rest for a while. Cloud knew the gunman well enough to know that he'd want to work. Actually feeling quite tired and hungry, knowing that he would have to eat by stuffing and gorging himself in that odd new habit of his. Vincent hesitated to answer...

His pause gave Cloud the time to take away his choice in the matter. The aqua eyed man approached the older red-eyed one, placed a hand on his left shoulder and after giving him a reassuring squeeze, walked away. Leaving the bar without looking back. Vincent sighed again and scratched his head, his missing long locks odd in his hands as he did so.

o0o

2 days later...

"You'll have these 4 report to me directly. Have them withdrawn from their units, orders revoked and replaced with these new ones. You'll find them in these attached files." Vincent sent the WRO Major a message through the system.

He hated these computer contraptions. Largely preferring to send paper orders. He was one of those old-styled commanders in the Turks. One of the potential recruit he had picked worked at Cid's airship garage back in Rocket town and would probably take a day or two to arrive. He'd chosen the last of his candidates after a full day of sleep on a full stomach. He felt positively better.

"On who's authority? You're not part of the WRO." Was the other's answer.

The ex-Turk frowned and crossed his arms. Bringing his golden claw into the viewer. It gleaned almost gracefully and gently, belittling it's awesome strength. The WRO officer stood his ground without flinching, especially under his own intense blood red eyed glare of impatience. Reeves chose his officers well at least. But they probably they didn't know who he was without his usual garb and with his shortened hair, remembering what Cloud had mentioned about people not recognizing him without it.

The officer now seemed realized who he was talking to.

"Vincent Valentine's. If there's a problem, take it up with your command directly. I'm here to train field-ops, not waste my time running around bureaucratic hiccups and mishaps and maybes! You'll send the orders so we don't waste both our times."

The other frowned but closed the vid without a by-your-leave. Ostensibly he would carry the order if he knew what was good for him...

o0o

Stomping around the grounds and helping Reeves order the camp kept him from thinking too much. Especially of the fact that Yuffie hadn't awoken from the coma she was presently in. Mako poisoning did this to people. There was simply no complete guarantee that she would wake up from it. He hoped she would, he had to believe she would... She was a tough kid. Hmm... no woman. She'd certainly grown up, though her personality begged to differ! During the rest of the week he busied himself. Trying to not overly worry about the wutain noble's condition. Shelke even passed through the camp organizing communications.

"I know you too well Vincent..." She'd told him one day. "You've blamed yourself for not making yourself available to contact by Reeve." The girl paused. "None of it is your fault... remember that!"

Vincent had been unable to sleep that night thinking about Shelke's words. That girl with his beloved's fragmented memories' words... Subconsciously he had indeed blamed himself for not coming sooner! It would have given Yuffie better chances of pulling through... He repeated an eternal mantra he had been given by the lifestream who had re-birthed him.

'Ask and you shall be forgiven...'

He just wished the pain in his chest thinking of the young ninja would go away...

o0o

With lightning speed an accuracy, regardless of his claw as a handicap Vincent put together a simple hand pistol from it's spare parts together and loaded a blank clip with 3 blank bullets in it, reloading the gun in under an impressively little amount of time and with very little noise.

"You're each assigned this homework. After 2 days you'll each be able to re-assemble a hand pistol from it's spare parts in under a minute as well as load at least 3 bullets in a cartridge, reloading the gun within the same allotted time." The gunman pulled back the hammer of his handgun. He placed his metal claw near the edge of it

"Mind you, without injury."

He clicked it shut and it made a horrible metallic grating sound as well as sparks from sliding over the other appendage. The 4 trainees looked seriously at their instructor. They where a diverse bunch.

"I'll also be bringing a noise-metre in to see if you can do it within a certain decibel margin just as I've demonstrated."

Bayan Haranu, Rioichi and Ryota Ohanzee as well as Kazi Harding.

The oldest was the only woman he had chosen in the group:

Bayan Haranu.

A chestnut brunette with shoulder length hair, she was petite but also quite nimble and her size trumped her force of personality which was clear minded and immovable in her beliefs. She was the oldest in the beggining of her 30s but seemed young at heart. She'd received some good training from the WRO and was loyal to boot. She seemed the most promising in observation, able to pick up details and particularities. A good trait to have as an infiltrator and spy. After a few days with her he had the impression she could be quite the actress as well. She would be an invaluable under-cover agent when polished and trained.

The two men were their mid-twenties both were brothers: Ryoichi and Ryota Ohanzee.

Their personalities and mannerisms were quite similar and he had picked them for their professions and work habits specifically. They weren't identical, your could tell they were brothers at the very least. Both had sable blonde hair and brown/green eyes. However Ryoichi's locks was slightly darker. Ryota was a chemist and Ryoichi an engineer specializing in architectural integrity. Both of them had only received basic combat training by the WRO but had served as engineer and weapons' consultants before Vincent had pulled them out for training. They'd learnt from each other's professions, compensating and complementing each other. They would certainly work well together and since they hadn't been separated in the WRO he wouldn't start with his new faction.

The youngest, Kazi Harding was hard to peg down.

He was quite exuberant, very positive and learnt the fastest of them all. He had long red hair and striking blue eyes. For a moment, Vincent Valentine was reminded of the slacking Turk Reno. Within a few days of training and working with Harding, he had dispelled the notion. Kazi was a perfectionist. He arrived on time, polished, proffessional and never interrupted anyone. The Ex-Turk did some background research on the young man and discovered that he had been an orphan since a very young age. Perhaps his joining the WRO was from a sense of wanting to belong to a family or group. He hung on Vincent's every word. The red-eyed gunman saw a problem coming from far away. He was too old and experienced not to! This kid would burn himself out if left to do so... He lived to please but had no actual friends.

Mentally Vincent sighed. What was he doing here. Truly?

Helping Reeve? Had he found something worth doing finally? At least it was something and not just lounging around Rocket Town doing nothing but bothering Cid! Whom had insisted he wasn't a bother at all... but that was besides the point!

"Time yourselves constantly. Your equipment and the use of it; stealthily, efficiently and timely whilst in the field is important. Now go over those exercises I've taught you yesterday and continue to work on them. "

Vincent placed the gun back on the table amid pieces of other handguns that had been assigned the trainees. "You'll keep practising assembling everyday, trying to beat your own records. Dismissed."

The 4 bowed instead of saluting, picking up their handgun pieces. He'd insisted he was not part of the WRO and preferred the old traditional way of differing to a teacher. As they left, Reeve pulled to the side of him.

"Have you decided on a name for your team yet?" The commander of the WRO asked thoughtfully.

"That's not my business. They're yours." Vincent said dismissively, picking up

"On the contrary, you are the one training them! It's only fair you should be the one naming this new faction of the WRO." Reeve picked up a stray blank on the table.

The raven haired gunman stared in the direction his trainees had left. He'd trained Turks... it almost felt exactly the same. A faction of spies... a pack of night wolves deferring to him, an old exiled loner, returned from a long voyage.

"Call them the Leavitt."

"The wolf cubs?" The WRO's leader looked up and Vincent stared taken aback.

He was surprised Reeve knew such old anglo-norman terms! Even back 28 years ago before his... accident, Vincent had been considered old-styled by his co-workers. Some of his habits, way of talking and mannerisms were nearing 100 years out-of-style in this time-period. Victorian in a way, traditionally Wutain in another. Back when Wutai had been a powerful nation and not at war against ShinRa it had been a great influence on the Western continent.

The WRO's director smiled sheepishly.

-Tada daaaa Dunnn da !"-

The crimson eyes widened minutely and Reeve suppressed a chuckle at what was a dumbfounded expression on Vincent's face. Damn these cellphones! He would never get used to them!

He picked up the device carefully from his left pocket with his claw... peering at it suspiciously. Up to date, he had only gotten bad news whenever he'd used it. He peered at the display. Cloud?

"Sorry..." The gunman slightly bowed, turning from Reeve to take the call.

"..."

-"Vincent ?"-

"Yes Cloud?"

- "Good news! She woke up!"-

Yuffie awake?! For a brief moment Vincent didn't know if the odd pain in his chest was from guilt... or from joy. It simply twisted in his chest and confused him. Stunned for a moment. He was glad he'd turned away from Tuesti. He had no idea what sort of expression his face was betraying without his cape.

"That's... good news!" His voice betrayed more emotions than he was used to.

-"She asked for you. Do you have spare time out of training the recruits to visit her at the hospital today?"-

He waged a mental war against his aversion of medical facilities. Alternatively, Yuffie had asked for him personally. It would be poor form to refuse to go see an injured friend. Holding a breath in, he set his mind on a goal to be achieve and answered the former AVALANCHE leader.

"Yes... if you could pick me up?" Vincent thought he should probably get a vehicle soon, instead of relying on rides.

-"Sure thing! I'll swing back in an hour or so... at the most. I know that you don't like... umm... Never mind. I'll be right there!"-

Vincent frowned slightly. Cloud closed his end of the phone. He turned back towards the former Shinra board executive who'd busied himself using his own data pad. Always working that one! The bearded man looked up from his work, sensing the phone conversation had ended and lifted a brow in simple inquiry

"Yuffie's... recovered."

Reeve smiled. "That's wonderful news! It's unfortunate I won't be able to go visit her, I'm required to be at a briefing this evening." He pressed a few more buttons on his pad and pocketed the device. Sitting down in a chair on the side of the tent and folding his hands in thought he added. "You will give my regards? I want to make it up to her personally at the end of this mess."

Vincent slowly and gently shook his head. His short locks again startling him as he'd expected the longer ones to hit the sides of his cheeks at this movement. It wasn't that he refused to give his regards, just that he realized that Reeve felt personally responsible and that both of them shared the same odd guild that was neither their own.

Yuffie was a grown women. Although she seemed at first glance incompetent, nothing could be farther from the truth. She was a fine Shinobi and capable infiltrator. In this line of work you had to expect the worse and detach yourself from guilt when sending operatives. Where had he forgotten this? Perhaps along the way... Reeve had never learned though. He couldn't blame the man who had once been in charge of simple urban development.

"Perhaps a gift of materia will keep her placated?"

Cait Sith's controller seemed stunned for a moment, eyes wide staring directly at Vincent before chuckling and scratching his beard thoughtfully with a half smile. Knowing not to comment on the ex-Turks improving sense of humour. Vincent felt awkward but also strangely better after successfully cheering up Reeve. He parted ways with the man after hearing the roar of a motorcycle outside the command tent.

* * *

_Author's notes:_

Getting re-acquainted with the story. edited mistakes grammar etc... (The works)


	5. Delving inner depths

Learning to meet halfway

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 5: Delving inner depths

* * *

o0o

The white and too bright corridors, the people dressed in long white coats, as well as the smell of sterility unnerved Vincent. He'd broken into a cold sweat despite the relatively comfortable temperature of the hospital itself. Following Cloud and Tifa through the hallways towards the visitors' desk, his mind knot in apprehension and his stomach seized whenever he'd see any implements or tools of the 'trade'.

They were told to wait for a nurse to come direct them to her room. Vincent, still in his work-clothes; Black under-shirt, leather utility jacket and black pants. Almost a catsuit really... He still wore his bandana out of habit more than any practical use. It was being useful right now in keeping the sweat out of his eyes. He'd noticed the blond swordman keeping tabs on him, glancing in his direction every so often. Vincent pretended he hadn't noticed and ignored the other's concern.

"Alright, I got a card and flowers. Want to sign it?"

Tifa introduced a card in his downcast view and he blinked twice at it before numbly yet gentrly taking it up in his claw which was always more stable than his other hand. He could feel himself jitter nervously so he tried to stay relatively stiff and didn't relax at all. The card was made of simple artisanal paper with pressed flowers. Daffodils and perhaps small Sunflowers? Vincent took a breath and sat down on one of the blue waiting couches. Reaching in one of his utility pockets he took out a pen and clicked it open. The pen hovered over the page, unsteady.

Ridiculous little tradition, the signing of cards for injured friends...but therapeutic maybe? What should he write? 'Get better soon' seemed so bland and overused. He thought long and hard before scribbling.

- Glad you're alright. Training new Ops. You'll be up to whipping them into shape with me in no time. Take it easy. Vincent. V-

After he'd finished he scowled slighty. It sounded maybe too... informal, too clumsy? He was usually much more eloquent than this! What would Yuffie say to him signing a card? So this meant he as looking forward to working with her to? It seemed so out of character for him. Well... there was no point in worrying now that it was already written.

A women in pale blue scrubs turned a curb and gently interrupted his train of thoughts.

"Miss Kisaragi is awake now and eaten a bit, so I'll be bringing you to see her."

Tifa grabbed the card out of his hand plopped into a bouquet of white carnelians. The nurse walked with them some part of the way and indicated the 2nd door to the right wing of the hall. Cloud opened it gently and let Tifa pass first.

"Hey!" A weak but happy raspy voice greeted them when they entered.

The young shinobi was pale and looked like the typical terminally ill patient.

Clad in hospital garb, hooked to an IV and a breathing aid since she'd inhaled fumes. Her leg was propped up in a halter and the fracture rapped in cast. Typically when people inhaled or were exposed to mako, it limited the ability for treatments using 'Cure' materia, they had to get her levels lower before healing the fracture..

"Hiya Yuffie!" Tifa bounced to the other young women's side. "We got you these!"

"Ooo flowers, too bad I can't smell them!" She paused, taking the proffered gift. "I'm hooked up to oxygen though! Its pretty sweet!" Even tired as she sounded. Yuffie was still Yuffie.

Regardless of what traumatic events had happened the cheerful wutain noble would pull through intact and non-the-worse for wear. As Tifa handed the young ninja the card that came with it she held out a shaking hand to receive the gift from her friends. Vincent was startled as he observed her more closely. Cloud started up a slight conversation about his own card signing contents, which he ignored. The once dark rich brown eyes where now a pale glowing caramel, a sure sign that she had gone through mako poisoning and overdose. She was incredibly lucky to have made it not only alive with her injuries but also mentally undamaged.

"Ooooooh my gawd!" She screeched. Belying how sick she felt. "I have the great Vincent Valentine's autograph!"

The wheezes that followed made him cringe, but her undeniable enthusiasm was heartening to see for everyone.

"Hmnnn." Was his usual answer. Pretending not to care.

"You're training newbies? Ahaha! That I got to see!" Yuffie put the card back into the carnelians which Tifa put on the side of her table. "They said that in a few days, the Mako poisoning would be low enough for them to cast a large Cure and set the bone more solidly!"

"That's awesome!" Cloud ruffled her hair slightly, at which point her expression turned to that of annoyance.

Vincent chuckled mentally. They would always treat her as the baby of the group. She'd come into AVALANCHE little more than 16 years old and full of dreams, hopes and wishes. Although she was now nearing 20, it seemed all of them forgot from her energetic attitude that she was a young adult. The ex-Turk slowly crossed his arms, slightly self conscious as Yuffie stared straight at them, squinted and blinked a few times with her new oddly colored eyes.

"Yo! That haircut looks wicked on you Vincent!" The young wutain probably said it with slightly too much gusto and slightly cleared her throat and put a hand to her forehead, warding a spell of dizziness. In a rare moment of his divulging information about himself he replied.

"I used to have it this short back when I was a Turk."

They was a moment of silence between his friends as they digested the information. It was thankfully broken by the blonde who changed the subject.

"Squirt, you take it easy now. You just woke up from some monster exposure! If you don't rest, it'll take longer for them to cast the Cure safely." Cloud stated the obvious.

"Pffft!" She glared at the blond, insulted.

The bunch bantered back and forth, excluding Vincent obviously, who still wasn't one for idle chatter. Regardless of the amount of emotional changes and progress he'd made in such short a time. He still wasn't talkative. He listened silently in his corner of the girl's medical ward. Yuffie's eyes drooped and they sensed their visit had been overstretched. Cloud and Tifa left and Vincent turned to follow suit but he heard a faint whisper, had he not otherwise been enhanced he would have missed and stopped in his tracks.

"Vincent, please?"

The gunman, facing away from the young woman frowned as his stomach was hit with a bout of nervousness. Nervousness? Why? He forced his recalcitrant body to turn and walk back to the injured girls' side. Trying to mold his facial features into a mask of impassiveness, regardless of the fighting turmoil boiling underneath.

What did she want? What would she say? He felt horrible for her condition... Had he only answered Reeve's call sooner! This...

"Thanks Vinny. You're a real friend for coming after stupid little me like that."

The ruby-eyed man saw her hand lift up in a hesitant motion of reaching out towards him. Trying to hide the movement she scrunched the tiny hand into the bedsheets. Vincent was however, particularly attentive to detail and hadn't missed it.

Should he?

Friends comforted each other didn't they? He pondered this odd feeling. Yuffie was trying to take the blame on herself, knowing how he himself pinned on circumstances. Cautiously and silently, without saying a another word the gunman reached his gloved right hand to hers and placed it on the back of her own. Squeezing awkwardly. It was a gesture that conveyed so many things.

Vincent didn't... do touching... EVER! Except...well... for her? He wouldn't usually let people get comfortable with him this way. To difficult to cut ties. That was then. Now he didn't work for ShinRa and was laying his issues to rest one at a time. For him to... connect twice in such a short period of time was true progress! Those awful butterflies of apprehension that had been fluttering deep in his belly settled. The look of stress and fear in Yuffie's eyes relaxed as well and she sighed. He also relaxed.

"I mean what I said. You know?" There was a melancholic smile on her features. He wished it would leave and be replaced by her usual bright one. She didn't elucidate more. He was curious. One of his eyebrow lifted.

"About what?"

She lifted her gaze, modified amber eyes looking back up to him in an odd look he couldn't place. "About wanting to be like you." She repeated. So it seemed she remembered everything.

Vincent's brow furrowed in confusion. The statement was made clearer to him now. It was obvious that Yuffie looked up to him as some soft of a role-model. He was getting more and more uncomfortable as time went by and he extracted his hand away from the young woman's. Clumsily, for someone who had such dexterous fingers.

Her voice trailed, thoughtfully. "I'll see you later Vincent with the trainees. I won't be staying here too long."

Vincent's lips lifted into a very faint smile, one that he would have had hidden behind his cape. There were rare moments he felt mirthful enough to present one. This one expression was truly genuine and unbidden.

"You make sure of that Yuffie." He patted her hand one last time awkwardly turned and walked away without another word.

o0o

Well into the next week, Vincent Valentine was getting reports of pressure on the line.

Though he was in an incredibly good mood and hadn't snapped at any of the WRO rookies in his department. Things were going well with training and the Leavitt learnt very fast under his guidance. It was only when Cloud himself called him on his cell to tell him of the deteriorating situation that he knew it had turned sour and they were running out of time.

The Deepdogs had become larger... somehow. They weren't dogs anymore. Some where veritable Behemoths! Thank god there weren't too many of those! They were digging out of the ground now that the WRO were cutting off the metal tube accesses they could find, such as the one he'd used as an exit rescuing Yuffie.

The Leavitt pups weren't ready for a full out sabotage mission yet! They had progressed faster than he'd ever dare hope. Bayan however was just not... the infiltrating type. For this mission he'd definitely need to keep her aside. She wouldn't like that... not at all! Damn. Women were difficult to deal with. He just didn't have the knack for it.

Vincent mentally sighed.

As was becoming his new habit nowadays he tugged the loose end of his red bandana at the back of his head once in an aggravated gesture. The gunman had completely recovered from all the burns and scrapes. Not a trace was left on his skin. From what he'd heard Yuffie had also been released. Her last high level Cure treatment had been cast.

He crossed his arms in thought. His students where doing a written exam at the other edge of the makeshift building's room. The camp was composed of these hastily built small metal panelled rooms. Like most of the slums in old Midgar the ground was soft red dirt or planks of wood or any such other material the WRO's engineers could find. It got real messy when it rained, which thankfully wasn't often during since it was the beginning of summer.

He was deep in thought on strategy and on how to tackle their Deepdog cloning problems when a tug at the back of his head on his bandana brought his attention to an intruder in the training building.

That he hadn't sensed whoever it was impressed him, but in the dead-center of the WRO camp he was pretty certain of whom it might be. Remaining calm as if he hadn't been caught unaware. He ventured a guess.

"Yuffie?"

"Awww! I was certain I'd caught you completely off-guard!"

He turned around slowly. Eyeing his students carefully. Had they known? The twins seemed surprised, Kazi as well. Bayan... oh the little devil. She had looked up and had a slight smirk and went back to work. She'd seen the ninja hadn't she? That and she obviously knew he'd been caught of guard, even with the little to no reaction he showed. He couldn't well lie now. He turned and was startled once again.

The young wutain had also changed her look apparently.

Graduating from whatever ridiculous digi-modern getup she had worn before to a more traditional wutain kuno-ichi garb. A white oriental jacket that closed by a thick black material belt at her waist, making it seem as if she had a mini skirt. Black skin tight shorts that continued as mesh hoes over her legs and tucked into high black tobi boots. Her bandana was still present however she'd tied it into a more feminine bow at the back of her head. She had taken to wearing a left arm-guard again which was made of thick dark grey leather as armor. She had a metal right wrist guard and shin guards and looked more of a ninja... and much more of a mature womanlthan he'd ever seen her before!

He swallowed audibly and attempted not to look as if he'd been doubly taken off-guarded by her new appearance!

"Congratulation Yuffie... Now can I help you? I have class as you can see."

"Oh well. I came to check in with Reeve and get up to speed. Seems like we'll have to move out soon and as you can seeeeee!" The shinobi did a little twirl. "All better! Just like I promised ne?"

Vincent wasn't amused, this was a serious class and he wanted to keep at least a sense of professionalism in front of his student.

"You all continue, I will speak with miss Kisaragi outside."

"Aye sir!" The Leavitt said almost simultaneously, lifting their attention from their exam and going back to it.

Vincent was 100% certain if they goofed that either Bayan or Kazi would inform him. Both were straight-As from what he could tell of their personalities. The brothers knew not too cheat. He stepped outside the rickety shack, closing the door

"What is this really about Yuffie?"

The wutain heir smiled goofilly. "We're being deployed! Both of us! Maybe 1-2 of the students you think are ready to come with us too! We're going to do some Saaaaaabotaging!"

Vincent pinched the bridge of his nose. Wasn't Reeve supposed to brief him personally on this tonight? He'd received a memo this morning. Yuffie most probably just snooped around his stuff and found that out from notes he was making on the facilities' layout froom the videos for planning. Tuesti had probably refused to assign her anything. For good reason! Just having barely recovered and was already on a rampage!

"Look.. Yuffie, I know you only want to help but..."

"But what? I'm coming to help you guys, whether you want it or not! So the least you can do is keep tabs on me right?" Yuffie said sternly though not angrily.

She was always like this and usually got her way. He was actually... quite concerned for her. She'd just recuperated! But before he could reply, she stormed off into the camp, presumable to get ready or perhaps just to get up to speeds with the whole 2 weeks she'd been out of the loop. The gunman shook his head, aggravated by the whole situation. He re-entered the make-shift building.

Kazi withheld a choking laughter. Most definitely they had all overheard.

"Mr. Hardin do you have anything to say to me?"

The redhead snapped. "No sir, sorry sir."

Bayan had that smirk again dammit...what was she thinking? ARGH! WOMEN!

o0o

It was just as Yuffie said; now the intense training he'd given his student would have to pull them through the rest. They didn't have any options left to them. Barret's ground team had had to pull back from one of those gigantic Behemoth and Cloud had taken care of it, but only just barely. AVALANCHE was getting tired. From pictures on the front they looked like the creature that Azul the Cerulean turned into. Vincent knew how tough those were to take down. At some point during the past week, someone had given them a call and offered help.

Reeve gave him his report in the evening Yuffie had made her surprise entry.

"Rufus." Vincent simply stated as fact when Reeve got off the phone with their 'help'.

"Yes. Our benefactor has sent Tseng and Reno along with a complete plan of the Deepground fascilities for us. Along with some of the required materials to proceed with our plans." Reeve stated, matter of fact.

"..." There were so many complaints Vincent wished to voice but knew they didn't have the luxury for.

Yuffie expressed visually what he couldn't and he saw the young woman grimace and make funny noises. It diffused the situation slightly and the ex-Turk could now think. Tseng was without questions a professional he could work with. He just had huge problems with Reno.

"Why Reno?"

Instead of answering his question Reeve threw a data-pad towards him. Vincent picked it up feeling Yuffie curiously tip-toe behind him to peer into it as well. This was...

"Reno's Turk profile?" He only looked briefly at Reeve in time to see the WRO's founder nod solemnly.

He reviewed the file rapidly. Helicopter pilot... that he already knew. Explosives expert. Really now? Obvious he'd heard the story of how the Turks had brought down the Sector 7s pillar offhandedly from the other members of Avalanche. So this man was the culprit! Disgusting. He hated this idea even more!

Vincent threw the file angrily at the table. "And you want me to work alongside this man?" He was ready to storm off.

Yuffie however held his left arm, sternly. She caught his eyes and talked for Reeve who seemed baffled and unable to find his words.

"You know... all of us have fucked up one way or another Vincent. We're all trying to make up for something we've done, lost or want to make up for! Reno and the Turks and even Rufus ShinRa. They want to help! Please let them."

The wutain princess's oddly coloured eyes bore into his own. Vincent was in turmoil. His own morals just couldn't make him work with mass murderers, even well intentioned ones...

"Please?"

"..."

-Damnit-

Yuffie couldn't understand, she was too young to know what horrors the Turks had caused and done! He himself... he'd been one of them. A murderer. He sighed. It was then that he noticed she was physically hanging off his arm and he did his best not to look flustered. Politely he extracted his arm out of her grasp.

"Fine... just don't have them undermined my own authority in this matter. I have final word on the plan."

Reeve seemed pleased. "Tseng assures me, you call the shots."

The raven haired man nodded curtly once, still angry but left the building to select his Leavitt trainees.

Yuffie looked after him. Thoughtful, she padded after him, a surprisingly silent companion to his own left alone to walk through camp he'd scare everyone! She decided to tag along him to diffuse any potential dangerous encounters. A large goofy smile on her face as she did so.

o0o

At rendez-vous point he met Reno and Tseng as they had promised, bringing with them the required demolition material. He'd chosen Rioichi and Ryota to come with him, the structural engineer could help place the explosives along with Reno. Ryota could, as a scientist, sift through and transfer important data as well as help them with any oddities inside the compound within his own amount of knowledge and expertise.

"Tseng."

"Vincent."

Both current senior and former senior Turks acknowledged each other stiffly... Vincent had rescued Tseng from the Remnants back at the northern crater, or so Cloud had told Yuffie who had...well... told everyone else. There was just an oddness between each other. A saying; Once a Turk always a Turk. To find a defected member, even one that circumstantially had dissapeared 20 years ago, still made Tseng uneasy.

Reno (obviously) made cliché eyes and practically leered his greetings in Yuffie's direction.

She rolled her own eyes at the redhead and Vincent tensed visibly. Without his red cape, many subtle movements were now nakedly exposed to the world. The cape broke his silhouette and so many small movements, shifts,straightening or relaxing poses where now exposed for everyone to see.

"Let's get this over with." He said in flat tone.

They got into the helicopter, marked as always ominously with the Shinra logo. Last minute planning their entering of the Deepground facilities Yuffie marked where she'd been and the paths she took to get to the cloning tanks. The actual compound was huge! It would probably require them to separate into two teams. He hated to send a green Leavitt with the Turks but Ryota would probably need to go with Tseng and Reno. The location seemed closer to a computer compound from the schematics. Rioichi would accompany him and Yuffie to the main tank-holding area since she knew the way better. Reno was synchronizing watches and checking over their gear to the side.

They would detonate an upper tunnel large enough for the helicopter to be able to fit through, however too high for any of the creatures to come up from. With the facility maps it made it all the more accurate for Ryoichi and Ryota with Reno's help to set up the first blast. Waiting for the dust to settle Vincent turned.

"Ryota, you take orders from only Tseng is that clear?"

"Yes sir!" The lighter blonde of the twins acknowledged.

"Hey! I'm like a senior Turk too yo! " Reno whined.

Everyone ignored the redhead. Tseng distributed their watches and packs.

"We're going to have to enter the lab itself as stealthily as we can once we drop. The helicopter will obviously have caught some of the denizen's attention. Split up up at this intersection." Vincent pointed with a golden claw, adjusting his ear-mic with his right. "Reno will give the mark to time the devices."

The red-headed hothead tapped his goggles but remained silent, face beaming happily that he was at least given something important to do! He knew Valentine hated his guts through and through. He just hoped the man wouldn't let it affect their mission. Reno could be serious when he wanted to. It was simply his conscious choice and personality not to when he didn't have to.

"Alrighty. Well, good luck t'ya all yo! I'm flying this baby up now! Oh and darlin? There's puke bags behind the seats. Don't aim for the floor neh?"

Yuffie frowned. "Oh I won't aim for the floor, don'tcha worry! I'll aim right at your sorry..."

"..." Vincent practically shoved a mic-earpieces under her nose, effectively cutting her off.

Grumbling the ninja put it in and placed earmuffs on her head, cutting off the deafening engine who's propellers where starting their their loud whirring.

* * *

_Author's notes:_

_Dec 06 revised, corrected etc... etc.._


	6. And then they were 3?

Learning to meet halfway.

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 6: And then they were 3?

*Ksssh*- "We're at the labs yo! Where are you guys so I can start planting these babies? Over."- *** **Kssh

There were Deepdogs... more Deepdogs and then there were... even more Deepdogs!

Yuffie and him were used to fighting them, but not Rioichi who seemed to hesitate pulling the trigger. They looked too human and the young man just hadn't had enough combative training to deal with it appropriately. He'd been the one stationed at Rocket Town on the plane hangards and hadn't received much combat experience before being called in by Vincent.

"Don't worry about them, leave it to us. Look for a place to set the explosives down!" Vincent managed to convey the message through firing at the creatures.

He shot what seemed the last of a wave, barricading a door with an iron bar. He hoped Yuffie was dragging the darker haired twin further inside. Knowing from memorising the cloning compound map, there were 2 other alternate exists they could take. They could no longer access the right hall, it was too close to the hatchery the Deepdogs where being produced from.

*Kshh * -" Vincent here, we're under attack, hold position and wait till we clear this area before setting. Over."- *Kshh *

o0o

"Damn!" Reno balanced an explosive charge in his hands. This just wasn't his day... this was supposed to be an easy get in, set, get out. "Tshh!"

"Calm down Reno. At least we'll have time to collect data."

Both Tseng and the Leavitt blonde Ryota where busy at their computer stations. The things where almost half decayed with time. In the state they were in, the redhead was surprised they had even found 2 functional terminals. The younger Turk supposed he could keep guard. He placed the explosive back in it's back and pulled his EMR out, tapping it to his right shoulder in impatient annoyance. Knowing from experience Vincent didn't want him to set them down until he got the go from him. Especially since their own group had encountered Deepdogs and they had just recently cleared them out of the computer chamber.

"I found the main data bank terminal... Damn! It requires a password!" Ryota in his exasperation banged the side of his chair.

Tseng pushed the younger man's chair to the side quickly. "Let me see that!" The older Turk followed the same path the young science chemist had and found the password entry. He keyed in a set of instructions and...

-Green-

"What the? Hey how'd you do that?" The data-files opened and poured out onto the desktop. Ryota read and placed them as orderly as he could as it fed.

"Turk magic !" Reno bellowed from the other end of the room. Attentive to everything that was going on, even from adistance.

"Shush Reno!" the older man humoured Vincent's trainee. "As Turk operatives we are privy to many of Shinra's old access codes and passwords."

*Ksssh * - "It's all clear our side, setting down. Over." - * Kshh *

Reno giddily set the explosives down. Putting a wire in his mouth and humming happily he twirled a wrench in one hand playfully like a sort of nun-chuk. Completely in his element.

Ryota listened but kept following the data and hooked his own data-pad, transferring most of it. The blond's blue eyes narrowed and his brows scrunched worriedly. He motioned to Tseng who leaned over the lighter haired twin to see what he was pointing too.

"There's access information here about doors opening and closing in the last few days. You need a pass card for these back doors here..."

"That would mean..." Tseng started.

"Someone's operating here. That makes terrible sense. You'd need someone to clone those Deepdogs. There's not machine in the world that will repair itself and maintain a facility this size!"

Reno stomped back to their terminals and entered in the one Tseng wasn't using, lightning fast. Having observed from the side everything the two of them had done he found the right entry and punched in the same password. He followed a more specific branch of security details.

"It's still here!" He pointed with his EMR to an opened door on the terminal he was on. "It's opened just a few moments ago!"

If they read the schematics right it was moving towards the holding tanks, where Yuffie, Vincent and their trainee were setting up Tseng reached for his com.

*Kshh *- "Vincent you have an incoming, possibly intelligent... dangerous thing... coming towards your North. Over."- *Kshh *

*Ksshh * - "Copy that. Over." - *Ksssh *

"Theres nothing we can do, yo! If bat-boy remembers anything about being a Turk he'll know we'll keep our end and set this down. They have a time advantage over us. Ryota come help me!" Reno went back to his explosives and hurriedly unpacked the rest.

The chemist looked uncertainly from his own terminal to the black haired man. The older Turk noticed the confusion and simply made a movement of the head indicating he should listen to the red-head. Tseng kept watch and guard, making sure the data transferred properly.

-blip-

Another door opened on the screen, closer the holding tanks this time.

-It- had noticed that it had company. Whatever -it- was.

o0o

The Deepdogs weren't following them anymore. They were now in the main incubation chamber with all manner of developed and under-developed...things. It almost seemed like a silo and collection of different pools. Creatures were seeded and growing in those tubes. Some more humanoid, some positively monstrous. Tubes of different sizes as well. Enormous vats. There was a single human-size one at the end of the whole chamber with a myriad of tubes filling into it. This one seemed important and Yuffie went to inspect it while Vincent accompanied Rioichi.

The Leavitt trainee had found a pillar he believed was connected with the Deepgrounds supporting beam overhead and had informed the gunman of the fact. If this was destroyed a whole section of the upper-midgar slums would crash down on the whole thing. Rioichi, as practiced as he was setting explosive, was nervous and fumbling with his tools.

"Take your time..."

*Kshh *- "Vincent you have an incoming, possibly intelligent... dangerous thing... coming towards your North. Over."- *Kshh *

*Ksshh * - "Copy that. Over." - *Ksssh * He replied.

They'd all heard it and now Rioichi's hands where even more unsteady.

"Rioichi!" Vincent snapped.

The darker haired of the brothers lifted his hands, concern and panic in his eyes evident. The ex-Turk simply held his gaze sternly conveying meaning in them. -You can do it-. The younger man, maybe about Yuffie's age, swallowed audibly but calmed down. His eyes focused and his brows furrowed and he went back to work with a steadier hand than before. Vincent nodded.

"Vincent... I think you better take a look at this."

The gunman looked around, the coast was clear and he had a clear view if anything should arrive. He looked down at Rioichi and the engineer told him it was alright and go. He was much more level-headed now. Vincent shuffled quickly to Yuffie's side. She was looking at the contents of the growing tube in the back of the tube. It was a glowing aqua and so he couldn't make the figure out instantly, as his eyes adjusted to picking up the details he inhaled sharply.

It was ... himself?

"Vincent? This is weird..." Yuffie stated the obvious.

His head was spinning. The humanoid... was him. It was...him! He was... in the tank. A copy was in a tank. Just a copy. A clone! No No No! He had trouble breathing.

"Vincent?" He heard her call his name

He had to leave, he had to move! The black haired gunman stumbled around going backwards. He couldn't deal with this shit... No! Not again!

"VINCENT!"

Yuffie grabbed him by the back of his bandana and expertly twirled him around. Slapped him in the face.

"Huuuh!" He exclaimed, surprised not only from the slap, but that she would actually even dare doing it to him!

"It's not you! It's obviously a clone. Snap out of it!"

The girl seemed so much older than she really was at that moment. He pulled himself together. Feeling ashamed, especially in front of Rioichi. Vincent looked back up at towards it, now that he observed it a little bit more detached. It was obviously a copy of him... but when he'd been a younger teenager. 14 maybe? Or maybe it was just at this stage of growth and development. The... thing... whatever it was... had electrodes on it's head along with am oxygen breather and it seemed half awake. He touched the glass and the thing's eyes seemed to widen minutely and it's smaller hand also lifted to the glass slowly. It was conscious and blinked.

"Who are you?"

The thing in the tube cocked it's head. Perhaps it knew what was going on, but couldn't hear nor understand. The only thing he had a certainty of was that it was with a child's curiosity that it tapped the glass where he held his hand to it.

"NOW NOW, I SEE YOU'VE FOUND MY LITTLE PUPPY..."

Yuffie and Vincent instantly turned and took out their weapons pointing it towards...

An incredibly large and completely black Galian beast. Except for it's eyes which shone demonically back at both of them. The creature, unafraid of them walked on all 4s, graceful like a cat, it's lupine tail trailing silky behind it. It placed itself in between them and Rioichi. Laughing deeply. Red eyes like deep pits in it's pitch black skull. So dark you couldn't tell any of it's features. Like where it's nose or mouth was. It was only when it spoke that the pearly white and deadly sharp fangs peeked from it's maw and betrayed it's carnivorous nature.

"CONFUSED? YOU SHOULD BE!" It belowed, it's voice rough.

The creatures body shrunk to that of a man, complete with lab-coat. It looked like Vincent as well. But much more feral. Long black unkempt hair, pale skin, nails that haven't been trimmed in the longest of times and could almost be considered claws. It had an intact left arm, which was perhaps the only difference between the former long-haired version of the ex-Turk. Besides the wild look it kept staring at them with, the stranger could have passed for his twin.

"Well, then that's more like it. Let's see where to start ?"

Rioichi had stopped placing the explosives and had his gun trained on... whatever or whoever this was. This was bad! They needed to finish their mission no matter what but neither of the seniors could tell the man to complete the thing without attracting this newcomer's attention.

"I'm obviously not you... as you can tell." His leering attitude was familiar. "Though at least I came out better than that poor Nero fellow did." Vincent's copy slowly walked towards the tube where the other copy was held.

He made a wide circle around them, padding barefoot and obviously naked besides the lab coat that was barely hanging off of him, parted in the front. Yuffie had a hard time not lowering her eyes. He seemed completely unafraid of their guns or weapons, nor self conscious about his state of undress. Besides the lab-coat he had a red collar around his neck,dangling on a short chain was a pass-card.

"Who are you?" Vincent snapped. He had enough of this! He should just shoot him, finish the mission and leave.

"Why, dear Vincent?" The thing feigned insult. "You may call me Emeric. You may call him..." Arriving at the glass tube... a clawed hand tapped it and the other copy turned towards it's living mirror image. "... Viturin."

The teenage copy followed movements and child-like made the same gesture towards the clawed hand that he had with Vincent's gloved one.

"You see. Obviously our master Hojo... thought of you as such a beautiful specimen!" Emeric twirled once and then brushed his clawed hand through it's black unkempt mane. "And so... he made more of us! Nero didn't turn out particularly stable... if you know what I mean! He was the first cloned after that bitch's tampering with the master's experiment!"

Emeric smiled, pearly fanged teeth peeking out of his mouth. He was obviously talking about Lucrecia, Trying to get a rile out of Vincent. Unsuccessfully though, the ex-Turk controlled his emotions perfectly. The feral copy continued.

"The taint of Chaos had to be cleansed first. But for me! Haha! All went well. You see... I'm a plague bearer! Whatever human I bite becomes a deepdog... Courtesy of the mutated Jenova cells you provided. OH! Better yet! One of these..."

Emeric barked an odd string of sounds. From the back northern entrance he had also entered from pushed a large purple behemoth creature. It's bulk splitting the metal of the door frame as it pushed through. Obediently padding next to Emeric's side, glaring and snarling at the intruders that were Vincent, Yuffie and Rioichi. The Vincent clone cooed softly to the monstrous being... that had perhaps been human once. "I started making these when I found some of your blood from an injury you sustained while here in Deepground. They grow up fast when well fed. Isn't it an absolute beauty?"

Emeric pat it's great nose unafraid of the hand-length fangs.

"Hojo's dead! You're free! Why don't you do something more constructive with your life?" Yuffie bellowed bravely at the creep.

"I'm a Tsviets! I created this army, his beautifully trained soldiers that would obey his every word! I've been hand-raised as a pup by the man you've killed! Dear master... Oh! poor master! Oh! Hojo sir..."

Emeric put an arm up over his eyes, overtaken by emotions it seemed. Very much insane.

"What are you planning to do with ...Viturin?" Vincent interrupted.

The feral clone plopped down to all fours suddenly, looking at the ground then back at them with angry blood red eyes full of malific intent.

"Well... I'm all alone in this solitary underground, the only one capable of sharing the mutated Jenovan virus you're infected with... but only a carrier! You cannot transmit! I need some help don't I? To spread it obviously! Aren't I entitled to some help? Yes! Yes! Definitely I am! Sooo... I'm making it using his research! He showed me how! He showed me! Yes he did! The man was obviously bonkers. There wasn't any dealing with the likes of him.

"Back to the ways of nature! We'll be roaming around in packs! AHAAHA! Living like all the other creatures in the world! It'll be grandiose! You'll see!"

He had had enough. Vincent took aim and shot him.

He caught him dead centre and the clone fell onto it's stomach after turning a whole 180 degrees, facing away from the group. Vincent's gun smoked and the behemoth at the clone's right cowered at the horrible noise, looking confused at it's fallen master.

"Ahaha oooohohoho! That hurt ouch! Dammit!"

Before their very eyes Vincent's feral copy turned onto it's back, hole smoking in the middle of it's chest and transformed into the Galian. Bullets popped out of it's chest and it healed rapidly. It was still humanoid in appearance. Digits still functioning but it had to mouth words with great effort, coming out loud and forcibly when the clone spoke in this form.

"WELL YOU CERTAINLY OVERSTAYED YOUR WELCOME! GET'EM BOY!"

The pitch black Galian copy jumped backwards to a control panel, connected with Viturin's tube. It was obvious that Emeric was trying to save this other clone from them. Possibly draining the tube. The large behemoth charged at them. Horns down it tryed first to gore them in the typical way these creatures engaged in battle. Yuffie and Vincent had fought too many of these not to know how to deal with them automatically. They jumped to avoid it perfectly. However Rioichi did not. The young twin shot at it. Which obviously stung the beast and caught it's attention.

"Rioichi no!" Yuffie yelled out too late.

The behemoth ruffled it's scaly mane and turned towards the lone human who was far from finnished setting down the explosives.

"Hyaaaaa!" Yuffie's conformer hit the creature dead on it's head. "Come and get me you lizard dog!"

The Behemoth didn't turn, however it used it's tail to try and swipe at Yuffie.

"$%" Emeric ducked as the tail shattered the glass tube and took with a few the tubes connecting to it as well as the other clone.

The black where-wolf creature struggled to stay upright against the flow of liquids, Viturin dropped to the bottom of the now empty tube. The behemoth charged forward towards Rioichi. Another set of shots resounded in the air. They weren't from Vincent gun however. These rounds bit into the Behemoth's left eye and the creature screamed in anguish.

"Aren't you glad we decided to go against orders, yo!"

Reno ran around a curb and quickly pushed the stunned Rioichi aside to finnish the half-job done of placing the explosives. Tseng's gun was the one smoking at it's tip and it was professionally trained on the behemoth. Yuffie joined the fight against the now thrashing beast. Blinded by pain it wasn't attacking anything in particular anymore and was much more dangerous in this state. Vincent ducked it's tail and was trying to get to the tube containing his other... clone. He jumped up onto the ledge of the broken tube. The naked teenage developed clone was propped up on week atrophied limbs and had managed to turn itself on it's stomach.

"BACK OFF! HE'S MINE!"

He felt a large powerful clawed hand grab at his leg and yank him off his feet. Falling on glass wasn't particularly pleasant. Especially when said glass plants itself into your back. Emeric yanked and dragged him on the floor to get a better hold on the gunman.

The ex-Turk hissed in pain feeling a thousand little needles plant themselves into his spine. He dropped his gun and with lightning fast reflexes warded off a gigantic jaw who's sole purpose he imagined was to latch onto his neck and take his life. He possessed strength over the average human yes, especially in his metallic arm, but this black Galian copy was completely skewering his human hand. The fangs pierced his fingers.

His breath quickened and he felt a jolt through his left arm again. Well wasn't this fine and dandy? Vincent smirked and this time didn't fight the odd feeling anymore. Knowing what was coming, confident that it would level the playing field. Emeric's eyes widened and the copy backed off as it felt Vincent's bulk shift, grow, bones crack.

"Yuffie! Grab Viturin! GRRRAAAAAH!" The ex-Turk managed to garble before his transformation into the Galian was complete.

"WELL, A LOSS IS A LOSS! BUMMER! SIONARA!"

The black copy pounced and backed off as quick as it could back through the door and with deft hands pushed the pass around it's color so the door closed behind him.

Vincent's Galian beast, dark purple hide with hair a silvery snow color, slammed into the door furious after the escaped madman. It's prey had escaped! The behemoth in the main chamber however still thrashed and roared threatening the team with it's gigantic horns and tail. A few more shots rang from both Tseng and Riota's gun in the room. The beast fell dead. A hole in the middle of it's skull where a bullets had managed to lodge itself into it's brain.

Galian turned, remembering it had come with packmates... It's snout smelled the air. 'THAT' girl again! She was still alive! It turned towards the source of the was at Viturin's side. The boy stared blankly at her and the Kunoichi shifted, from foot to foot, trying to decide how to deal with him. She took a deep breath and hoisted the naked wet youth on her back. Vincent was still somewhere conscious in the Galian and focused the beast with his own interests and motivation.

"Oh shit!" Yuffie froze.

The galian beast had jumped onto the remains of the tube, smelling it's own blood and then the youth Yuffie carried. It smelled the female again. Then snapped it's attention behind the Turks.

"Everyone! Incomming Deepdogs!" Ryota cried out, pointing at the other end of the compound.

"Oh shit! I just got to put the timer on yo! Wait!" Reno hurriedly snapped while working. He could hear Tseng's gun now shoot out in the opposite direction of the Behemoth. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Done!"

Reno stood up and grabbed the stunned Rioichi by the scruff of his WRO issued uniform. Placed him back on his feet and pushed him towards where Yuffie was heading. The 2nd exit they'd mapped out in the back and left. The galian beast jumped down and slowly pad towards them.

Reno slowed down, so did Tseng, Rioichi and Ryota. Unsure of how to react to Vincent's transformation. The great beast, on all fours, beautiful in it's lupine grace and strength padded past them. They all heard the incoming Deepdogs barks and bays getting closer. The dark purple-coloured yellow eyed beasts looked at them, shacking it's mane, placing itself in a ready stance. Unworried. It exhaled annoyed. Pieces of equipment dangled around it's form. Including the mic still attached to it's right ear.

"I think it...uh... he's gonna cover for us! Let's go!" Reno snapped.

Tseng reached Yuffie who was slow with the extra body she was carrying. Tseng lifted the youth and took up her burden. They ran out of the room using the other exit.

"But Vincent!"

Reno opened a channel. * Kshhh *- You have 6 minutes yo! Goodluck Vinny -* Kshh *

* * *

_Author's notes:_

_May 4 Revised cut and added stuff._


	7. The double edged knife

Learning to meet halfway.

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 7: The double edged knife.

The helicopter's propellers beat in a regular droning tempo. This time Yuffie wasn't airsick in the least. She was too worried to be. The young teenage clone was wrapped in an emergency blanket leaning on her, clenching the belts that held her mid-waist. The 'thing' hadn't said a word. It followed their movements and actions with child-like curiosity.

7 minutes had gone up. Top side there was a large rattling and dust in the sector of Midgar where the cloning compound had been directly below the section. Nothing from their com... simply static when they called Vincent. Yuffie held the copy closer, perhaps sensing her distress or simply copying the movement. Viturin hugged her back.

o0o

"What the ?" The pilot exclaimed as they brought in Viturin in the WRO command tent.

The older sandy blond had jumped out of his chair, looking over pieces of equipment on a table with Reeve. The chair clattered on the make-shift wooden floor.

"Is that... Vincent?"

"Not exactly..." Yuffie moved Viturin, who followed her on wobbly barely muscled legs.

He looked like Vincent...true, but there was a child innocence in his eyes. Wide and taking everything around him as marvels and wonders. Viturin had long hair, was lanky and looked like it hadn't eaten... ever. It was pale, pasty and it's naked feet were dirty from shuffling around without any footwear. It didn't complain at all. Not even a peep since they'd practically stolen him from Emeric's lab.

Reeve sent for a medic to take care of Viturin while Tseng briefed the WRO founder on all that happened. Once the teenage-developed clone of Vincent was out of sight Yuffie jumped up.

"We gotta go back and find out what happened to Vincent!"

The men looked downcast. Even Tseng who usually was very collected even dealing and/or receiving bad news. The slick black haired turk was running a hand back in his hair, head bowed.

"Yuffie's right!" Ryota chimed in. "We have to at least make some kind of effort to find out what happened to him. Right?" The young Leavitt sounded uncertain himself.

"Standard procedures..." Tseng started, hesitating then added. "... would have us assume he's dead until he contacts us in a case like this."

"WHAT!" Both brothers and Yuffie exclaimed at the same time.

Tseng cool and collected put both of his hands up with on harsh motion and comman to stop. Authoritative, cutting them with a his voice which resounded in a collected and even tone.

"Logically, for one; the whole structure and area we've been in has collapsed, is unstable and highly dangerous. A rescue mission would put us in too much danger and perhaps himself by either discovery or causing further collapse to the structure."

Yuffie bit her lower lip and grabbed the edge of the table hard, her arms shaking. Her face betraying her worry and emotions, she seemed on the verge of tears but holding them in for appearances in front of the Leavitt. Tseng continued.

" Valentine is resourceful, he has excellent training to rely on. We have to hope he pulled himself out. Right now, we need to deal with both Viturin and the remaining Deepdogs. We also have this data..." Tseng lifted a slim datapad with his left hand and placed it on the table. "... to go through. I doubt that Emeric fellow would have stuck around in the compound as well, intelligent as he is."

Cid tapped his spear to his shoulder eyes scrunched.

"I hate to break it t'ya kid but Tseng has a point, We have other important things ta take care o' and if Vince doesn't contact us, there must be a good reason."

The wutain heir dropped her head for a moment, her arms still supporting her upright on the table. She took a deep breath. Not understanding why the situation should be different between rescuing her and rescuing him.

"Fine..." She didn't sound convinced. "I'll go check on Viturin."

Her voice broke and she tried to hide her face as she exited the command tent. Reeve sighed, shook his head and turned to Tseng with a semi-reproachful look. Reno, who'd been very silent during the whole thing, scoffed and went after her. The Leavitt brothers exchanged a concerned look and then looked up to Tseng. The pony-tailed Turk turned to the WRO's founder.

"With your permission Tuesti, I'll be going through the data we've collected with the Leavitt."

Cait Sith, who'd been in Reeve's lap all along without saying a word and acting exactly like the toy he was modeled to look like suddenly animated and held the edge of the table smiling up.

"Y'all get too work! I have my own things set up fer me!"

The enigmatic toy jumped off it's master's lap and padded out the tent. All of them, including Reeve set out to split and sift through the immense data they had collected in the cloning compound and laboratories.

o0o

-Shit I forgot!-

Yuffie thought and started running towards the medical tent. She tripped a WRO soldier who yelled obscenities after her. She apologized without stopping, turning halfway and awkwardly smiling to discharge tension. The ninja quickly arrived to the set up infirmary. It was a high enough tent that you could stand in it, hung on the tarp ceiling were some lamps powered by smaller-grade bolt materia. It was a long tent and there were a few wounded soldiers. Nothing serious, all serious cases were transferred to Edge's hospital anyways.

"Where'd they bring the naked teenager?" She asked a random nurse.

Knowing who she was, the caretaker pointed towards a more private enclosed area with drapes seperating it from the rest of the area. Yuffie padded towards it, as she did a doctor exited. He was an older man in his mid 40s, brown hair and of the non-descriptive sort.

"Hey! I forgot to tell you, he might be carrying some kind of... weird infectious thing in his saliva from what I understand. So... um you should probably check that."

The doctor's eyebrows shot up minutely and he took a deep breath before answering the ninja.

"Well thankfully, we all follow the same procedures with patients and we wore gloves... but you could have probably warned us that we had someone viral on our hands!"

Yuffie stuck out her tongue and scratched the back of her head embarrassed.

"Well I don't think he bites."

The doctor blinked. "No, that he doesn't... He's actually quite docile."

"Has he said anything?" She was curious.

"No, and from what we can tell he's not deaf or mute. He seems insatiably curious about everything but still fairly intelligent, we just simply don't know why he hasn't spoken yet."

The young woman scratched the bottom of her chin thoughtfully and entered the partition, parted the drapes aside. Viturin was wearing a loose white long shirt, almost like a nightgown of sorts, it looked overly large on his form. Twirling and observing a stethoscope the doctor probably had left him with.

The youth, was an exact copy of Vincent with long hair. She imagined he would have looked like this in his early teens. The clone was in the process of flicking the ear pieces, watching them vibrate when he sensed the ninja entering the area.

"Heya!"

The clone blinked, expression neutral but set the apparatus aside, his attention fully on Yuffie. His wide open stare trained fully and singularly on her face.

-Man what a case!-

The young wutain heir thought as she came to the bunk, not exactly a bed, and sat on it's edge. Trying to figure out what she'd had to do with this... Vincent look-alike.

"Do you even understand me when I talk?"

Viturin's facial features stayed the same. A wide innocent child, observing the world. After a moment, the clone went back to his stethoscope and placed them on his ears. Probably a copy of what he'd seen the doctor do. The young boy lifted the receiving end and placed it on her neck. It was cold. She let him do that for a moment and he seemed concentrating on something for a while, eyes closing for a moment and head turned slightly. When he turned back his eyes had lost some of it's innocent glimmer. He opened his mouth.

"Heartbeat high, breath halting and irregular. Prognosis: stress and mental or emotional anguish? Shock?"

The voice was high pitched and broke sometimes, there was an undertone of Vincent's rich timber in it, but it hadn't ripened yet. Yuffie blinked, dumbfounded.

"Um... ok?"

Viturin's face went back to it's earlier blank confused observation of her. Withdrawing the stethoscope he started flicking it again, this time with a sort of melancholic sad-smile, looking ahead but with a far-away expression that spoke of inward thoughts.

"So you can talk? Alright... well. Let's introduce ourselves correctly this time."

The clone turned it's head shyly and some of the sadness left it's features. The brunette smiled and pointed to herself.

"Yuffie Kisaragi."

The younger copy of Vincent held out the medical apparatus to Yuffie.

"Stethoscope." Was all he said.

"Hmm... no. Your name is Viturin isn't it?" She pushed down the offered gimmick.

The child-like...thing, blinked confused then seemed to click off. As if she didn't exist, his attention went right back to focus on the stethoscope, he seemed to be starring intently at it's seams. Picking it apart with his eyes to figure out how it worked. He carefully, like it was a delicate dried flower, placed it down unto his lap.

"Prognosis correct?" He kept staring down into his lap at the stethoscope blankly.

Yuffie slumped forward, bangs hiding her eyes, exasperated. This copy was weird. She hadn't the slightest idea on how to communicate with it or what it was thinking. It was like... talking to a mentally damaged teenager or something.

"Yeah... I'm worried about Vincent. The man dressed in black that looks like you?"

Viturin blinked, listening. Head slightly tilted towards her but still staring at the medical equipment in his lap.

"Insufficient data to offer possible solution."

"..."

Ok this was definitely weird. If there was one person she knew that could probably deal with a nut-ball clone experimental thing that acted like a computer, it was Shelke. Yuffie sighed and started to get up. The raven haired youth startled and quickly grabbed her arm.

"N...nn..no.. do not leave the premise! Insecure protection! Insufficient fortifications against the unknown! Strangers without proper authorization, viewing classified material! Require monitoring! REQUIRE MONITORING!"

Having a panicking teenage Vincent look-a-like bordering on hyperventilation was truly something for the history books. Especially when they sounded like a robot's pre-arranged stringed script speeches. There was real emotion in the tones and inflections of Viturin's voice however, no machine could produce those... well except Cait Sith.

"Ok! Ok! ok! Calm down... yeeesh!"

She plopped right back where she had been seated and Viturin calmed down, his breathing slowed until he was certain she wasn't leaving. The clone stared down at the stethoscope again.

Yuffie bent down and put her hands so they held her face and slowly but surely she started crying silently. The clone blinked, hair dangling and eyes wild searching somewhere in the small enclosed area of the tent for an answer. Finding none, tentatively he reached a hand out and pat Yuffie's back rubbing in timid circles. Looking in another direction as if looking at her directly was a bad thing.

"Prognosis correct."

Reno, on the sidelines, a silent guardian in case of trouble, left the medic tent then.

o0o

* * *

_Author's notes:_

_May 4 Revised cut and added stuff._


	8. Walking on the edge

Learning to meet halfway

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 8: Walking on the edge

Deepground was burning, the creatures fleeing and being taken down as they left from multiple collapsed tunnels and exits caused by the huge section collapse. What was now dangerous at the front was the fumes.

Mako fumes.

The WRO soldiers where issued gas-masks but they didn't have enough to go around and were starting to forage them from the dead. There were actual casualties now at the lines, more than before now that the creatures were fleeing for their lives rather than simply attacking. They were 10 times more dangerous and had completely changed their behaviour.

Cloud was at the fore-front. Fenrir left behind at the WRO command tent.

With the ease of a military captain he directed the assault and tightened the lines. Putting himself in hotspots when needed. His 'supposed' military training was a great asset to the World Regenesis Organization's military faction. The blonde's voice was modified by the gas mask but was even, tempered and stable. He kept readjusting the thing on his head. Golden yellow hair and locks getting in the way of his face, the visor constricting his vision, which was dangerous for a swordsman.

*Kssh * - "Cloud here. Sector 4 clear. They might have gotten the message by now and searching for another exit way. Red Squad move to my position and hold the line. Over"- *Ksssh *

*Kssh *- "Red squad leader, Roger that."- *Kssh *

A hover ship floated up ahead and passed him. Cloud's hair ruffled in it's wake and he could feel the heat blowing down from up ahead. It kept flying and gained altitude. Soon afterwards he heard the shuffling of boots and he was off again, running through debris and following the airship while paying attention to any incoming attack from Deepdogs or other denizens. Cloud knew Barret was on the edge of the line and was taking care of communications. He could sometimes hear the large man on his com directing him to a region or to meet WRO soldier who already had their own orders to move a sector up.

Cloud was much more flexible and wasn't being kept too strictly on leashed orders. The blond jumped a large support beam and the whole thing creaked dangerously. He tapped it slightly with one of his smaller short-swords, his larger one still on his back. He advised all troops of his location and that the structure was dangerously unstable. He left the area quickly afterwards. Night approached. It was a much more dangerous time.

o0o

This night was calm, save for the constant burning fire that crackled and the occasional massive mako explosion, breaking the silence. The flames burned in turn green, blues, purples and blues before turning to red. Indication that it was burning a Mako deposit. It would be dangerous to approach that area for a while now... but not for the likes of him.

Cait Sith padded carefully around. Weaving through metal scraps, staying away from the more intense flames but unmindful of the fume since his mechanical body didn't need to breath. The toy cat playfully put a hand over it's eyes and scanned the debris, taking a moment to find it's bearings, then moving onwards. Seeking, looking, searching. Once in a while pulling out a piece of scrap away and peering in it's opening here and there. Cait never stayed long in an area.

A Deepdog approached and the toy instantly collapsed like a stringless puppet. The thing came to sniff the mechanical object, then padded away, uninterested in anything unliving. Once the coast was clear, the toy re-animated then continued on it's way. A sound caused the toy to freeze again and another lupine figure appeared. This was slightly bigger, black furred with horns on it's head. Different from all the other Deepdogs. It was taking bits of debris off a vehicle of some-kind. It looked air-worthy.

"Vincent? Chap!" The toy-cat waved at the Galian.

The creature, red eyes glowing in the hellish fire of the disaster zone, focused on the mechanical automaton. Slowly it padded closer and the toy cat froze. This Galian was... different...

"Uh oh..."

The cat's mechanical ears plastered to it's head before it's metallic skull was crushed by elongated fangs.

-Ksssssssh-

o0o

"AHHHhh!"

Reeve's legs failed underneath him and he collapsed almost underneath the command table. Head cradled in his hands.

"What the %&$ !" Cid threw himself towards the WRO commander to help him. "Someone get a medic!"

Reeve was still conscious and had managed to grab a chair but had tumbled to the floor with it. Dazed and stunned for a moment he offered no explanation. Tseng extricated himself from one of the computer labtop provided to him on the command table, but he held a hand out indicating Rioichi and Ryota to stay seated. The Turk went to hold the former Shinra board director's hand. The fingers flexed and clenched spasmodically.

"A link severance. I've seen this once before." Tseng stated.

"I've never seen one, wouldn'ta known wha it was! " Cid answered.

"What's going on?" The brothers asked simultaneously.

Reeve, teeth clenched, managed to get himself in a seating position with the help of the pilot and Turk. He was able to answer haltingly. "Something's destroyed Cait Sith." Taking a deep breath, he managed to say. "I think it might be Emeric from Tseng's discription."

Cid reached for the fallen man but Tseng held a hand up.

"Wait! His whole body is going through a neural disconnection. He might have a seizure and it's best he stays on the ground for it. Call a medic."

The medic did arrive promptly. It was the same one Yuffie had been talking to briefly a moment before. Reeves seemed to be agonizing. In his seated position, he was clutching his head and struggling to regulate his breathing. The doctor rapidly set a round mechanism about the size of a quarter to the commissioner's temple. It seemed to relieve him somewhat.

"We'll need to get you to the medical tent right away sir."

A gurney was set down by medical personnel. Reeves undignified and conscious of appearances replied.

"I can walk."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. If you prefer, we'll provide you a wheel chair... Commissioner sir." The doctor tried to smooth talk his superior.

The former Shinra board of director resigned himself as a patient and was transported to the tent. This left the Leavitt with the Turks a potentially dangerous mixture. Rioichi and Ryota looked nervously at each other. Cid was scratching the back of his head unsettled.

"I suggest gentlemen that we get back to sifting through this information until the commissioner is in a state to be debriefed on what we find." Tseng called attention back to himself. He silently caught the pilot's eyes.

"As commander of the WRO airfleet , I will defer to you until my own superior wishes it otherwise. Is this satisfactory?"

The gruff pilot snapped back into a commanding position and nodded. "Ya let me know 'bout anything important. I need to get in touch with Cloud and the others. See how what's going on on the lines."

Tseng bowed slightly and Cid left the command building. The Turk's leader turned towards the twin and nodded once. Until the commander or someone of authority told them otherwise, Vincent's orders to follow Tseng's lead was still in effect. The two brothers exchanged a look of helplessness and went back to work sifting through terabytes of information.

o0o

He woke up to the sound and feeling of regular rumbling and coughing on dust. Realizing that he was still not wholly human. Neither was he the Galian. Somewhere caught in between. Still more beast than man. The creature painfully righted itself. Assessing it's surroundings and it's own state. It's left back leg hurt at the haunch and it limped about, dragging the injured limb on the dirty floor. No names of places nor people appeared into this beast's head, nor recognition of it's prior tasks or goals. Survival. Simple and as pure an expression of instinct as can be drove Vincent Valentine now. Human intelligence guiding it in a limited fashion.

-Leave-

This place was dangerous, the smell of slain foes and blood, fire and mako abound here. It did have to leave. It's internal voice was quite right and it shuffled where it's nose led to cleaner air.

-Rest when safe-

Another thought from somewhere inside surfaced and the Galian thought back to itself -where- ?

-Home- / -den?- / -Packmate's place-

Though the concept of friends was alien to the Galian, the pack was familiar, the pack was safety, the pack was were home was. The creature limped toward Edge.

o0o

Cloud was just about done today.

_'I need a bath badly. '_ He thought as he jumped down from a vantage point back down to his bike.

A million muscles protesting as he did and a trickle of sweat running down his forehead into his eyes again. Which he couldn't wipe away on account of a filter breathing mask. He'd received word on his cell from Cid that the bombing operation on the cloning facility had succeeded. It was about time, even he and Barret were exhausting their last energy reserves. He could only imagine what the other foot soldiers of the WRO could be experiencing without his mako enhanced strength. There couldn't be much of the Deepdogs anymore, they'd hunted down the individuals that did escape the Midgar area later. Edge's local police force could take care of the rest.

The blond ex-SOLDIER grabbed a lever on Fenrir and opened his sword compartment, hoisting one of 3 swords from his halter into those designed for them. Leaving one sheathed. It was almost mid-day the day after the bombing mission had been completed. In the clear crisp air nearing the end of spring his breath congealed in the air today as it came out of the filters of his mask. It had stopped raining practically everyday and summer was rearing it's head. Some mornings were still chilly like this one.

He'd probably collapsed for the remainder of the day after this all-nighter and Tifa and the kids would baby him as always.

Cloud smirked, not a full smile but it wasn't his habit to do so. His little family had gotten tighter and closer together and he hoped to add one more member in it. In within 6 months time Tifa would become a Strife and both of them hoped to have children. Tifa wanted 2, he'd be just happy with 1 on account of Marlene and Denzel. The swordsman kicked the support under Fenrir and revved it's motors warming it up a bit before speeding onwards towards the Edge checkpoint.

Tired as he was, he didn't pay attention to the half-prostate body of a creature he assumed the WRO had slain since it wasn't moving and trailed blood. Especially since it was so near a checkpoint.

The purple furred creature heard the familiar sound of Cloud's motorcycle and as he sped by, the ears twisted attentively following it and the snout lifted slightly smelling nostalgia, an old hunt, and old pack member. Heading for the den.

o0o

_Author's notes:_

_May 4 Revised cut and added stuff._


	9. Walking on the edge part II

Learning to meet halfway

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 9: Walking on the Edge part 2

It was with a heavy heart that Cid turned away from Reeves' bunker and left the high profile medical tent to think. Not without passing Viturin's area first. The young teenage-looking clone was the perfectly mime of a statue of innocence, unmoving and unblinking. This was all damned annoying!

Well let's number the things that have gone wrong today:

Vincent was gone! The commissioner was now falling into a coma! Some odd scientific clone 'Remnant' was in their camp and they where still fighting Deepdogs near midgar! Well... since the factory calmed down now was as good as any time to think and he took out a cigarette (his 3rd today). They weren't near done clearing the surroundings of Edge of those things, he thought, maybe it would be good to call some friends to help.

Reeve was lying next to a table with multiple pieces and parts of Mark 7. The next Cait Sith model. The commissioner had been starting to work on it but hadn't had time to finish. From all Cid could tell, the pieces were all there. No one in the WRO were advanced enough in both robotics as well as medicinal applied biology to do a re-synch between both. From what he'd gathered from the WRO personnel only Shalua had been qualified as a bio-mechanist of that level. The main doctor who presently tended the camp introduced to himself as and was the one who had proceeded to deliver all this bad news in one shot. The doctor had previously been employed in but had proven his worth numerous times in their camp and had some knowledge on how to operate very delicate equipment that would keep Reeve from falling too deep into a coma...

...but not...

...reconnect him with his Cat automaton.

"$?#$ goddamnit!"

Cid was starting to get a headache and exited the medical tents to take another smoke (4). Followed by the doctor who needed to pursue alternate treatments or work on some of the other soldiers around camp that were injured..

It was early in the morning still and a little chilly, the sun was breaking up from the Eastern valley of Kalm. The young clone was a patient study of his new roomate. Nothing was lost to it's keen processing of happenings within the small tent. The girl Yuffie had left some time ago to go sleep, after observing his surroundings the clone concluded there was minimal risk of damage to itself in this area. He watched the doctor's methodic screening of patients ranging from the benign cut to deep lacerations or friendly fire, transferring them to other tents afterwards.

A bearded man entered in a wheel chair, holding his head. -Symptoms indicate: Concussion-

Viturin observed.

It became much more complicated than that. He noticed the synapse drawer, an electronic device designed to keep higher brain functions elevated, oxygenated and to substitute for a very specific problem. If these strangers had such a thing nearby that could only mean one thing:

-Link severance symptoms, prioritize patient.- Viturin blinked, rummaging through his artificial implanted memories for file cases of Espers. People who controlled mechanical automatons mentally.

- case file project: Esper. Dropped. Success rate lower than 5%, limited to a few transfers, mental damage ensuing on most subjects. Multiple risks involved to subject. -

The doctor then seemed stumped, not able to proceed with the man. Other than placing a synapse drawer. Confused. Viturin stayed statue-like, almost without blinking.

Watching, waiting.

Were they not going to re-synch? The pieces were all there... The longer they waited the more nerve damage would set in. It was when both the doctor and the other blond man left the tent that the answer settled in his head. Viturin blinked. Left alone with the bearded man who had been laid down and given a mild muscle relaxant sedative.

The pieces of what was obviously his 'inspired' strewn on a makeshift table about him. He studied them while they prattled away and the subject slowly trickled farther into his coma.

The clone cautiously pulled back the covers of his medical bed. Placing a naked bare foot on the boards of the medical tent facility, testing it's own stability for the time being. A look of awe passed on it's face, almost as if astounded that it was moving by itself before it firmly stood up and grabbed the stethoscope that it had hung on the headboard of it's bed. Moving tentatively and awkwardly like a newborn towards the table with the different mechanical parts. Dangerously coming close to tripping on nothing when he arrived at destination. Viturin kneeled, picking what seemed to be the piston for a leg and it's casing. Plopping down it stared at it momentarily then at all the other assembled pieces.

-energy source required, tools for assembly required, linkup data interface required-

The remnant had watched his surroundings long enough to know exactly where to find all that was needed. Like a mischievous child seeking a toy lumbering through medical drawers and set-up cabinets. Ignoring and unheedful of the voices or and Cid Highwind still arguing about their choices until they mentioned Shinra, at which point he perked to attention but kept working.

The pilot and doctor were still trading solutions. They left this particular tent alone, Reeve lying next to him in easy reach.

Belying his clumsy balance when walking, the clone set out like a highly performing machine to the task at hand. Cannibalizing other medical equipment including the energy source for a portable defibrillator and working on assembling parts of a similar mechanical device he had in his memory.

Clicking, turning, screwing, bolting and even managing to melt certain pieces together with the heating base of a sterilizing unit at the makeshift lab at the corner of the medical tent. To his credit Viturin showed intelligence and ingenuity. Though none of this mattered to him but concentrating on the task for the sake of the pursuit of purpous. Keeping it's mind occupied with putting back together what had dawned in his head. -Mark 1 Le Chat Botté Toysaurus model Alpha-

The deed was done within 30 or so minutes. Most of the parts where already fully assembled anyways. While the finished product did not have any colour or material wrap finnish, the robot twitched and moved perfectly as Viturin went through subroutines in it's systems using a simple medical info-pad. Face smudged with a mechanical grease and burnt carbon, he scratched his face where a bang tickled the bridge of his nose.

"What in'tha blazes is it doingll!"

Cid hollered.

o0o

Yuffie hadn't gone to any of the WRO's camp tent to sleep that late night, she had hitched a ride on one of the supply buses back to Edge and gone straight to the 7th Heaven. There she collapsed crying in Tifa's arms like she had been holding all of her emotions for hours... which she had. Putting up a tough front for both the Leavitt and her own self-image.

"Yuffie... dear... what's happened?" The barmaid pulled the distress young woman aside up in the appartment she shared with Cloud and the children, letting her vent her distress a bit and take her time explaining to her what happened.

The older woman thought longly on what response to give learning how Vincent had given them time to leave. When the Ex-Turk was involved you could never really be sure if he would return and pop within a couple of days, or months... or years. What really worried her was how the young shinobi was reacting. It had happened many times before that Vincent (wether it was a secret flair for the dramatic or otherwise) would dissapear after a battle just to reappear at a pivotal moment they needed them.

"Dear... you know Vincent, he's dramatic like that. When you least expect it he'll pop up again I'm sure."

"He..." Yuffie hiccuped. "He is dramatic like that isn't he?" The short haired brunette smiled slightly yet still sadly, trying to cheer up for her friend's sake but still bothered.

Tifa was in her nightgown still, it was bordering early morning and she'd gotten a call from Cloud that he was coming back on a much needed reprieve and wanted to fix breakfast for him. When Yuffie seemed to have calmed down she changed the subject to cooking eggs and afterwards once they had set the table and it seemed the young shinobi had collected herself she asked.

"So... Vincent's got a couple of clones does he? Are they as bad as the Remnants?"

The wutain heiress shook her head. "One of them is kind of... insane, the other one we have no idea about but he's as meek as a sheep." Yuffie poked a runny egg in her plate. Viturin is like a robot, he sort of reminds me of Shelke when we first got her away from Deepground."

"No personality you mean?"

"Yeah..."

The deep reverberation of a motorcycle's engine grew in strength and both knew instantly Cloud had come back. This was followed by the excited padding of two children running down the stairs yelling, despite the early hour, 'CLOUD'S BACK!' at the top of their little lungs. They were the first to greet him at the door and although the blonde felt particularly filthy and smelly the children seemed to ignore it and smothered him in heartening affection.

"Kids! Let Cloud go up and shower. I have breakfast down ready for you both!"

Marlene nodded once making a small sound of aquiessence and Denzel seemed to pout before half-heartingly extricating himself from the Ex-Soldier and plopping down on his chair. Tifa walked up to her fiancé and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder greeting him and placing a chaste peck on his cheek, telling him she had set up a change of cloths in the bathroom for him. Simply nodding but with a faint smile, which on him seemed out of place he tiredly marched up the stairs.

Yuffie sighed at the happy familly display and seemed to fall back into a brooding melancholy but was happy for her friends. For a moment she just ate mechanically until she kicked herself mentally to get herself out of depression.

"Hey! Tiff!"

The older woman was making extra potatoes, the kids having been much more famished than usual. "Yeah?"

"You guys set the wedding for around November right?"

"Mmhmm" The martial artist scooped out the hash browns into a plate.

"Well... it's my wutain comming of age birthday and I thought: Wouldn't it be cool if you had the ceremony or reception there! It'll satisfy those viscious papparazi in having a hero-wedding-worthy-wedding and besides..." At this Yuffie wedged a thumb under her headband nervously and looked to the side shyly. "They won't spare expenses on this birthday and I'd just feel awkward if it was just for me."

Tifa turned and beamed. "Oh Yuffie that's so nice of you... I'll talk about it with Cloud. You know he's the one who hates crowds the most... but you're right, the media have been more peckish than usual these days, especially with the Remnants and now with Omega raising us into the spotlight more than ever."

"YA! Thwey evwen bawth'm awt schwool!" Denzel said around a mouthful of eggs.

"Denzel don't eat with your mouth full!" Marlene chastised before Tifa could say anything. The long haired brunnette chuckled.

Denzel loudly swallowed. "It's true!" He brandished his fork emphasizing. "Cloud had to come pick us up once when we called because there were so many journalists! That's just after word got around he asked Tifa to marry him! Remember Marlene?"

Tifa cocked her head towards Yuffie. "It was either Cloud or Barret and you know how our larger friend would have acted with the media."

Yuffie bent over laughing and so did the kids.

o0o

Shaking, cold, thirsty, tired... Vincent came too on the outer edge of... well... Edge.

He had no idea how he'd escaped from Deepground nor how he had passed the guard post undetected, only that he still had the lingering scent of someone in his nostrils. The Ex-Turk sneezed, which in turn had him doubling in pain from possibly a bruised or broken rib. His eyes scrunched in pain and as the tears did the rest of washing the dirt and his vision slowly blurred he became aware of a new problem. Wether it was from his state of hurt or some other effect, he hadn't quite fully transformed back. He could feel the elongated fangs, the light was brighter and still had claws and felt a wisp of a tail brushing his inside calves.

His cloths had been, for the most part, burnt off his body. Possibly from the explosion or from fire, the Galian's affinity had warded most of flames damage. Shreds hung from his waist and a few scraps still were wrung around his right arm. His state of nakedness wasn't bothering him as much as the amount of physical pain that was lancing from his right haunch.

"Gaaarrr..." His voice wasn't the same either. It was definitely either dislocated or broken.

The Galian was Vincent and Vincent was the Galian.

Luckily he was back into more of a human state of mind and knew to avoid the populace by taking back ally ways It was early in the morning and people would start getting to work now, he could perhaps quickly get through to the den.

He clung to the shadows of the cities of Edge and made his way to the bar.

Not thinking... in his pain that what people would see was... a wolf-like creature.

o0o

_Author's notes:_

_May 4 Revised cut and added stuff._

_Notes for next chapter: _

_Hopefully I'll be able to combine the culmination of feelings between both our friends Yuff and Vince in the next few chapters. I hate the overly dramatic and obvious touchy-feel fictions where the two inwardly reflect too much on their feelings towards each other and have been avoiding too much of it in the story. I think it's better to just have them act as they would and just see where it goes from there... as any real-life relations would develop. I really do hope that just the slight hints of feelings peppered throughout the last 8 chapters weren't too much, but just enough to hint at it growing between them._


	10. The packmates

Learning to meet halfway

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 10: The packmates

o0o

The trashcan's smell was horribly alluring but a part of the Galian's mind screeched at it that... no... it wasn't a good idea. The itching sense of being near the den (-home-) brought about it's renewed strength to limp the last few lengths it took to get to the 7th heaven.

It had been spotted by a few people. They had run away screaming from it and the beast startled at this somewhat, freezing in place when an old man who had taken out his garbage had spotted the gigantic dog-thing the size of a chocobo, yelled and threw the can towards him fleeing.

Galian/Vincent was not in the best of moods with the pain in it's ribs and a dislocated hind leg. It could care less about humans for the time being. Finally it found what it had been looking for, the den's back door. Remembering how it had entered many times, the beast tried humanly to turn the door knob, only to have it's loss of dexterity knock back it's beastly senses somewhat.

-Door, turn knob, open-

The Galian's mind-friend told it that it was how these things opened, but it lacked the coordination in it's present state to do so. Flashes of Emeric being able to expertly enter data in a computer flashed in his Galian mind and intermingly annoyed Vincent's pride... Both the fire-breathing creatures mind and the gunman's were one and the same now. Galian/Vincent decided the knob was the problem. It didn't take long for the creature to rip it off the doorframe with it's powerful jaws. Weezing as the movement hurt it's ribs, opening one of it's mulitple wounds. He dripped blood on the floor and slid on the side of the door as he squeezed into the bar.

-Thirsty-

Galian/Vincent limped, it's claws clicked on the ceramic tiles in the kitchen area. Bracing itself on it's one remaining good leg, the creature hoisted itself on the counter and opened a tap. Lapping at the running water for a while.

-Hungry-

Leaving the tap water running, intelligent enough to know how to turn it on but lacking his counter-part's human foresight to see the need to turn the tap off afterwards. Galian/Vincent weezed after landing back on all 4s and followed his nose to a cupboard that contained nice smelling aromas.

o0o

"... Cloud, I think something's downstairs."

Tifa had woken up, startled from the sound of the doorknob being ripped from it's frame. The blond though was knocked out cold and half responded with grunts to his finance's prompting. Completely sapped of energy after fighting for days at the borders of Midgar. The martial artist bit the bottom of her lip and decided that she would deal with... whatever it was, herself. She was entirely capable anyways. She swung her legs over the bed, and went to check to make sure Marlene and Denzel were safe.

The young boy had woken up too. He he had opened a crack in the door in his pyjamas. Smiling sheepishly when he saw his adoptive mother was already awake and in the hallway going to deal with... whatever it was. She made a silent gesture to go back into his room.

The long haired brunette heard water running downstairs and she very carefully made her way down the steps as stealthily as she could. Holding herself just around the bend of her bar, the kitchen was to her right. Trying to determine who the intruder was before engaging. She heard the sounds of the banging of one of her cupboards, claws scrapping on the wood and the spilling of one of the dog-food bags she kept for Red XIII's visits. Confirming a growing dreadful suspicion that it might be a wild dog... or worse! A Deepdog. Especially since whatever it was had managed to break in through a locked door. Not a normal feat for a feral dog.

The thing... whatever it was, was busy eating. Tifa knew that you didn't disturb a wild animal while it was doing that. She hoped the thing would leave after filling it's belly. The minutes seemed to be interminable and the thing had stopped eating. She heard some more water lapping and then the click of unsteady paws towards her.

Her breath hitched and she heard it sniff the air. Obviously it knew she was there and she prepared to engage whatever it was. Twirling around the corner she assumed a launching pose but then froze.

It was Vincent!

The Galian froze, startled as well.

"Vincent?"

The martial artists muscles which had been tense before relaxed minutely. She remained in a fighting pose though since this was the Galian, not Vincent standing in front of her. She could see that he was hurt. His paws had spread prints of blood all over the kitchen floor. The Galian licked it's lips from the meal it had just eaten. Otherwise it made no agressive move.

It's eyes seemed different.

Still the predatory red but not consumed by fury as she had always ever seen it in that Galian made a noise she had never heard it made before. A sort of cooing hum. Almost a whine. Sort of like small sneezes. She'd heard RedXIII make a few times, which was a sort of greeting.

"Vincent? What happened?"

The Galian's ears flicked forward listening to her. It didn't fully understanding so much from the words as from the tone of worry from it's packmate. What had been Vincent once quickly became bored with the female and tried to shuffle past her.

Tifa let Vincent walk around but kept an eye on him as the huge creature shuffled towards the stairs purposefully. Limping.

"Vincent are you alright?"

The beast's ears again flicked back. Indicating it had heard it's name. While Galian/Vincent reached the steps and clumsily climbed them, leaving a trail of blood as he did. Denzel, still at his room's door edge, sucked in a breath when he saw a large beast-like creature he was totally unfamiliar with poke it's nose up into the hallway. He closed his door quickly and went to get a baseball bat.

-Home sleep-

The Galian shuffled past the children's room towards the guest room. It was the last place it remembered sleeping comfortably in and the door was already thankfully open. Poking it's nose in the room it smelled a familiar scent in his part of the den.

The beast slowly made its way to the bed's edge and sniffed his way around the dark room. The female he had saved, protected and started to consider his own packmate... was sleeping in it. The galian sniffed at her hand and both parts of the psych of it's mind, the beast and the man, decided it didn't mind sleeping in the company of this woman.

Tifa had followed Vincent up to this point and watched, torn between calling out for medical help but knowing wisely that if he hadn't transformed back into human form, nor possessed his human mind, Vincent would not suffer any doctor in any shape or form.

If he hadn't come out of his limit break by now it was because he was incredibly hurt and there had to be a reason behind it. She bit her lower lip and went to wake up Cloud. This was important!

"Hmph mmmrr mmmrr."

The Galian cooned, nibbling the female's hand affectionately and she turned aside as he had half-expected, leaving enough room for him to jump to her side and settle in the bed. She didn't wake up, which was perhaps for the best...

-Safe/Safe- Both minds agreed and slumped into unconsciousness.

o0o

Yuffie woke up warm and by someone shaking her shoulder slightly. Her eyes opened and she saw Tifa with a very worried expression looking down at her. The older woman put a finger to her mouth and motioned towards the lump she was startled to feel behind her. The ninja assumed it was Marlene or one of the other kids that had climbed in bed with her.

She slowly turned around and was startled at a hunched form of dark purple fur and silver mane, matted with blood and mud, slowly drawing wheezing breaths. Inhaling and exhaling noisily.

"...Damn." The young Ninja extracted herself from the blankets, wearing only a yellow nightgown. Now stained with blood.

Tears welled in her eyes as the creature they knew as Vincent breathed haltingly in obvious pain.

"Oh Vincent... what do we do?"

Yuffie hesitantly placed her hand on the shoulder of the great beast but it didn't perturb it from it's sleep at all. The Galian was unconscious, so was Vincent in it's mind.

Tifa rubbed the younger woman's shoulder. "Maybe we could clean him."

Cloud yawned, standing at the door. Though he seemed concerned, the blonde was about as bruised and worn out as Vincent (minus bloody wounds) and wasn't in any condition to help. The kunoichi nodded, tears squeezed out of her eyes in concern for her injured friend and she gave the beast one last comforting pat before going to get bandages and linens with Tifa.

Thankfully the bar had a steady stock of first aid supplies on account of Cloud's sometimes dangerous jobs as a 'delivery boy'. They piled gauze and filled up a basin with water. The swordsman promised Tifa that he would take care of the kitchen mess Vincent had madeonce he wasn't dead on his feet in the morning. The barmaid kissed her fiancé and told him to go back to sleep with the kids. Denzel was worried still and the blond humoured her.

The women, awkwardly set upon the task of cleaning the Galian. The whole experience was awkward to say the least. None of the members of Avalanche had had to deal with the Galian beast outside of battle and any experience they had of it was that it was dangerously aggressive and unpredictable. They were both very concerned as well as relieved that it was unconscious while they administered first aid and cleaned it's wounds.

Vincent didn't so much as twitch when they put alcohol to disinfect a nasty looking gash. Some of the wounds were so big, they needed stitches but neither of the women wanted to risk waking the beast and none of them knew how to do proper stitches either. They opted to just close the wounds with butterfly tapes and wrap the wound tightly with gauze. Hoping he wouldn't move too much to open the wounds in the mean time.

They noticed the dislocated haunch and from his halting shallow breathing knew that he had either broken or bruised ribs.

"Why hasn't he turned back ?" Yuffie ventured the thought in the open.

Tifa shook her head. The older woman didn't know either.

o0o

Cid scratched his head. Viturin looked back up at him as a child cought in a jar of cookies. Maybe it was just that... a proverbial back of cookies. Problem cookies! Cait Sith robot's body was sitting inanimate after the clone had been caught doing response tests.

"So... What the hell?" Cid directed the question to the other doctor.

The Dr. Adjusted his glasses and checked the instrument on Reeve's temple.

"Well Mr. Highwind, I think he might be our only chance to make a connection. Short of waiting for Shelke Rui to arrive at the end of the day."

The pilot grumbled. The doctor had made it quite clear that the longer they waited, the more chances permanent brain damage would set in. The older man glared death towards Viturin. He hated all of these ShinRa wacko experiments. Reeve's problem was one of them! If the commissioner hadn't had whatever it was done to his brain connecting him to a robot done. He wouldn't be in a coma!

"You! Kid!" Cid pointed to the clone. "Take care of him. I don't care what you've been through or what you know or if you're with us or against us. But if you can help him. Do it!"

With a green light, the young Vincent-clone went to business and in a flurry of motions and grabbing of tools proffered to him by the doctor observing the whole thing. The linkup seemed to go smoothly, with wires hanging down from the cerebral stimulator that the doctor had installed to Cait Sith.

Viturin was sweating, going as fast as he could and Cid hoped to whatever gods were watching Gaea that he had made the right call in trusting this... cloned boy/creature. He hadn't decided if he was going to treat it as a human-being yet.

Reeve was pale and unmoving on his gurney and when the raven haired youth took the moment to poke at Cait's hand for a reaction, surprisingly the WRO's leader's hands raised performed a whole succession of tests on the automatron which made the older man move instead of the robot itself. After a whole series of gut wrenching testing that had Cid ready to stop him, the boy bent the toy figure's head down and flicked a switch behind it's head.

Reeve's eyes opened. Cait Sith stretched it's little toy arms out as if waking up instead of the commissioner.

"Oy! It's good to be back in action lads!" The cat's tail swished around. Reeve slowly moved his head to look around and his gaze landed on the pilot. He smiled.

"#?%#&, !$ just great!" Cid swore, unable to take the tension anymore he left the room to go chain smoke a whole pack!

The leader of the WRO was then aware of both the doctor and the young Vincent-looking boy who he assumed was Viturin. Reeve hadn't had the time to get a closer look at him and finally took the time to do so now. The raven-haired boy didn't smile. It's task completed it was busying itself with putting away and cleaning the tools they had given him. Avoided looking at everyone else, including the doctor who was so besides himself in amazement that his mouth was still wide agape and open.

Cait Sith loped about comforting everyone and doing his... you know... thing. Which was moral boosting and spreading about the good news that the both of them were fine!

"Thank you... Viturin." Reeve still had a splitting headache from the tranferance to his 'inspired'.

Otherwise he managed to convey his grattitude to the clone, who in all appearance had been the one to save him. The copy froze slightly but looked back towards his patient. Reeve plopped back down on the gurney and was unable to ward away true sleep. Viturin blinked but otherwise, the other man's grattitude was noted.

"Rest..." It simply said.

Reeve was not going to argue with that.

o0o

The next day Cid got a call from Cloud. They had found Vincent... but in a state that made them all wonder if they were truly out of the woods yet. 2 members of AVALANCHE were out of commission and they had a rogue mad-man scientist on the loose according to Reeve's intelligence (aka Cait Sith), who managed to get around fine and worked where Reeve wasn't able too.

It was actually very strange to have the robot-automaton give orders around the camp and be serious for a change.

RedXIII and Shelke had arrive late in the evening last night and were busy chcking up on things in the camp. The Leavitt and Turks were still sifting through the information they had gathered and everyone agreed to have a meeting mid-day to figure where they stood. The only members of their group who wouldn't attend were Yuffie and Vincent. Everyone thought it would be a good idea to have one of their own present by his side if ever the Ex-turk woke up.

Everyone had a bad feeling about their whole situation. So many things weren't going well for their little group lately. No one could shake away the feeling that something ominously wrong was about to happen.

o0o

_Author's notes:_

_January 30th (Updated this particular chapter for errors)_


	11. The ugly truth

CHAP11

Learning to meet halfway.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.

Chapter 11: The ugly truth.

o0o

Author's notes:

I've just re-read and corrected a few things in this chapter for clarity. I intend to work on this maybe on the side of 'Touched by a flower' so hang onto your britches (à la Cid!)

o0o

Viturin twirled the orange materia which Shelke had brought him. He felt it's surface and weight in the palm of his hand, passing it from one to the other. His dextrous fingers belonging to that of a natural born piano player. Balancing the sphere between long digits like a magician flipping a coin in a show of prestidigitation. This particular materia had never left her side since she had been paired forcefully with it. It was her drug and she couldn't separate herself from mako treatments for too long. Slave to a dependance caused by it.

Shelke had actually known about Emeric for a quite a long time. Not about Viturin.

Vincent's 20 year old clone Emeric had been created and raised by Hojo in Deepgrounds as an actual literal 'pet' project. His 'pet' had served as his assistant but also to further the mad scientists' knowledge on cloning procedures. Nero had been a first failed copy of the Ex-Turk but not enteriely dumped because of a side-effect of cloning Vincent with Chaos still within him. It embued the Tsviet with an odd affinity to darkness that was wholely supernatural. The 2nd more stable clone's whole life rested solely on creating backup soldiers developping new techniques to copy them. His knowledge had been abused by Genesis Rhapsody during the past. The knowledge had then become more difficult to access for other scientists and researchers afterwards.

Hojo was Emeric's entire life! Without the glass-wearing madman, the abomination raised as both his lab rat and assistant could not function psychologically or emotionally. Shelke had actually thought he had killed himself a long time ago!

He had been completely silent fo 2 years in Deepground.

'Of course!' Shelke chastised herself. 'It all makes sense!'

With the directions of Hojo who had entered the World Wide network, he had been the one creating that underground army! Specifically pursuing the professor's experiments and following his orders! There were good chances that it had been with Emeric's help that Hojo had possessed Weiss in the first place!

'I should have realized the signs when the Deepdogs stirred!' The redheaded woman in a child's body scratched RedXIII's head pensively while the both of them observed the clone.

'Prognosis good for link-up' Viturin sent through the materia to her in that odd almost magical way that materia was activated.

"That's fine." She said aloud in a very monotonous voice, conveying her motherly and protective emotions through the orb instead of her voice or her own body expression.

Wired to the materia that he was, the clone understood her intentions better. This type of materia had been created experimenting on Shelke's body. A cross between a command and a summon it intermediated between the two types of functions and was compatible with electronic technologies. It was in fact the first trully artificial 'man-made' materia.

Viturin seemed created completely compatible with it. Without the addiction problem that came when a normal person was forced to activate it. The teenage bodied clone of Vincent was able to hook up to it's interface very easilly. The Link-up materia, allowed direct access, transfer and download capabilities into the minds connected with it. But only if they had been treated as children with it.

A whole library of knowledge was planted into the clone's brain it seemed! Just like it had been in hers from Crescent's data. The copy was indeed a genius but without having lived an actual life! Viturin did not have a personality of his own. He was a blank... but not for long. With this informatoin, Shelke was fully able to understand the scope of Emeric's experiments and plans. Viturin, seemed to know the how and why he had been created. He wasn't frightened by it, having no bad experiences in relation to his existance to know. Shelke discovered that the next download sequence which would have been added to his blank mind would have been Emeric's core personality . Only fragmental shards of it had managed to come through and were disarrayed and dissolving in Viturin.

The evil Vincent Valentine clone wished to infect all of humanity with the same Deepdog creating strain of Virus that seemed to be the key to the Galian-beast transformation! Some variation of the Behemoth genetic strand that Hojo had succeeded in making viral and the ability to infect others.

-Everything is alright- A sense of security passed through back to Shelke from Viturin.

-Uploading to Shelke Rui-

"It seems..." She looked down at the cat then, addressing the large lion creature next to her. "... that we have an un-personalized clone."

The unscarred eye blinked slowly. " You mean he doesn't have experience on how the world works?"

The red headed child-like woman looked back down to RedXIII.

"Affirmative." She dipped her head in acquiescence. Older in her mind than her body's mako stunted growth. "Like a newborn." She continued.

The orange furred wolf-cat understood the situation rapidly, having worked with Shelke for some time on seperating her identity from Lucretia's. The man in wolf's clothing did not fight his nature as others did. It seemed a favourite pastime for humans as of late. The lupine head shifted and his back hind leg scratched behind one of his ears, jingling a few feathers around his mane.

He was thinking. Nanaki strode back gracefully to report to the pilot and Reeve what both Shelke and he had found out.. The Lion-Wolf was a well respected scholar, scout and source of information and had become somewhat of a scientist in their team. The link-up materia transfer with Viturin had given them substantial information.

For one, they knew of other laboratories! There were 5 possible shelters which Emeric could have fled too. Many of them were inside cities, some of them operational, some of them already uncovered by Reeve's himself and used as a WRO base. The commissioner on the other hand was recuperating from the largest headache in the entire universe, which was aggravated by Cait Sith who felt not only fine but also somewhat bossier than his usual. Especially now that his master was out of commission. Cloud was on his way bringing Tifa for a meeting with the WRO. Barret was also extricating himself from the front lines to attend the old AVALANCHE members meeting conference which they had decided to hold. Which included the headache inflicted Reeve.

Yuffie was taking care of Vincent, whom from last reports had not yet turned human.

The meeting between all parties went smoothly and efficiently. All former members of AVALANCHE had received updates on the situation and everyone agreed to leave the laboratories to the Turks and joint Leavitt forces and have them both report to either Cid or Reeve. Afterwards, the Turks and Leavitt were fairly busy trying to decrypt some of Emeric's passcodes at theso-called laboratory locations. Vincent's evil twin clone had re-encrypted many of the facilities codes. None of their own pass-codes seemed to tap into any of the cameras from these 5 ShinRa installations.

They would have to be checked manually...

"Great just great! Now we're going to have to do surveillance! Gah I hate that stuff!" Reno grumbled.

A black haired man stood up in the room from his computer desk. With regal charisma he addressed both the Turks and Leavitt.

"The sooner we have eyes in these places, the more likely we will be able to catch him while he settles in." Tseng held 5 prepared envelopes, presumably with details on each location. He threw them on the table in the middle of the room where both the Leavitt and Turks had assembled in a WRO installation.

Different pairs of hands each picked one up and all faces looked up sternly determined to get the job done. Each motivated by different things for different reasons.

o0o

-Pain pain pain/wake up-

The Galian's eyes opened quickly, it's breathing hitching as it quickly tried to gain a sense of where it was. It smelled, his own scent in the sheets. He had slept here before. Somewhere familiar.

-Home/the den- This was Vincent Valentine yet also someone else.

He smelled another scent in the air, next to him... the warm body of... the female he had met before.

-Yuffie/Female?-

-Whiiiiine- How it hurt to move!

He stayed deathly put. Yuffie got up right away with his wailing, half asleep she noticed how the Galian beast had opened it's eyes and how it squinted in obvious pain, his breath coming into short pants.

"Oh Vincent...um... Galian don't worry. We patched you up just a bit! I'm glad your awake now though."

The slender young woman didn't dare touch him for fear that he wasn't in his right mind and still the usually aggressive Galian. She had only ever seen the creature in a rage when it was awake. Not this... docile.

To even think of him in this form as placid was very difficult. Here he was though... placid. A great beast just roughly bigger than Vincent. The Galian was definitely lupine in features, it's elongated jaws, moist leathery nose and non-retractable claws were indication enough. The back legs where bent at angle and it had a large almost reptilian tail that had a crest of silver hair. He looks sort of like a hybrid between some sort of behemoth and werewolf. His ears flickered to point towards her.

"I would love to try some healing with you conscious now... if you'll let me try?"

Galian/Vincent heard Yuffie talk to him. His ears flickered indicating he was paying attention to the young brunette. The pain was excruciating and it was difficult to hear over the rush of blood in his ears. She passed her hands over his strong mane at the crook of his shoulder blades. He stiffened at first but then slowly, relaxed. Enjoying the touch. For a brief moment it forgot about it's pain and was allowed to be lulled into the comfort of another creature. It was when he closed his eyes that he then felt the tickle that soon became a strange burn. The younger woman was casting a Cure materia on his largest gash, the one on the side of his neck.

-Patience Stay/Burn Run-

The knowledge of Vincent and the gut reactions of the Galian warred with each other. The former won but only just barely. He kicked with his remaining good leg at the sheets and was reminded that the other hurt tremendously when he did so. He settled to flexing his clawed hands and ripping some of the bed sheets in frustration.

With a gentle brush of her hands, reminding him that she was still a friend, Yuffie continued to heal. The great beast licked it's lips impatiently. It's lavishly long tail swished around. It wasn't used to the sensation of burning. Being inclined to fire itself. Thankfully the great wolf-like beast did not have the energy for a full-out struggle with the kunoichi.

"Brrrrrra"

He grumbled, complaining. Hissing through his nose at her and lifting his neck to look at her with animal blood red eyes.

The wutain noble replied. "I know it stings."

She finished casting the cure finally. Slumping his head back down exhausted, Galian huffed in pretend indignation. Ready to go back to sleep again... if it weren't for the fact that he was really thirsty... and... he needed to go to the bathroom! In the 7th Heaven's there was thankfully 4 rooms and 2 of them had access to a bathroom inside of them. Reserved primarily for Avalanche, these last past few weeks she had housed Vincent in one.

-Go bathroom water/ Move-

Vincent shifted his long neck and head and dragged his upper body, which was in much better condition since being 'cured' to help steady his legs. The excruciating pain had ebbed with the materia treatment and was now at least tolerable. When Yuffie saw him trying to move she grabbed the back of his scruffy mane in between his shoulders and hurriedly voiced her concern.

"Um! Vincent I think you should stay in bed for a little while!"

"Hnnnnn!" The Galian whined, the movement of a small slim shinobi did not feel good on it's cuts.

He showed the whites of his eyes, not wanting to turn his head too much because of cuts and scabs. Deciding that the human female would be no obstacle to the creature's will and was obviously harmless to it, Hojo's experiment lowered it's 3 remaining functioning limbs on the floor and pounced awkwardly towards the bathroom with her hanging onto his neck. Mid-way Yuffie could no longer hold on and plopped down on on the ground from the bed with a resounding thunk.

"Owy!" She whined. Taking an awkward seat on the floor and rubbing her flank.

Besides not being able to communicate, the fire-breathing Galian did not understand half of the blabber that came from her mouth. The behemoth-like beast opened the tap and drank and then slowly made it's way to the facilities. He understood their function but only possessed an animal's sense of propriety and decency. Yuffie hurriedly turned around when it became clear what he was about to do.

"Umm... well..." She first blocked her sight with her hand. "You just do that! I'll be at the base of the bed if you need me."

With a clear head and somewhat faster than normal regeneration, Vincent's dominant psyche returned into his body. A resounding voice of reason in the body of a bestial creature that was not his own. Including a few extra limbs he had never had to control before. It was strange to say the least. His tail swished around hitting the sides of the cramped bathroom he had just used as a mounting panic climbed. He stumbled around the washroom confused and disoriented.

-Yuffie what ?- It came out sounding like a hacking cough from the Galian's lips. "Krrrrprrr Wrhraa?"

He must of sounded confused or scared because the female ninja bounced back up hurriedly.

"Oh... shoot! Ok Vincent come back and lie down!"

Yuffie sounded very concerned and it was at this moment that the Ex-Turk really looked down at himself. He was the Galian... or at least sharing a body with the beast! He must of snapped out of some sort of shared truce for survival between the two!

Truth be told, the creature was not nearly as bad when he knew how to direct it's attention to certain things. Vincent had become used to it after years of co-existance with the creature in his mind. He felt the strange muscles of his face making a grimace and Vincent morbidly wondered how he looked like from her perspective. On the one hand he was totally monstrous looking and very aware of it. On the other, this was Yuffie, a friend that had experienced battle with the Galian many times before.

Body motions the only means to convey messages and he performed his first of many symbol towards Yuffie. The beast craved something... He pointed to himself. Rubbed his stomach and pointed to his mouth.

Hoping, sincerely that she would fetch what he needed before the weighing psyche of Galian decided to take care of it on his own. Vincent could feel it grumbling in his head. She shuffled down hurriedly down to the kitchen. Her footsteps loud. The Ex-Turk turned beast carefully tested his ability to move in the room. It wasn't long before the young shinobi ran back up with what seemed like stew conveniently made for him if he waked up.

Yuffie set down the bowl on the bed table-stand. The spoon clanged on the wood reverberating as it rocked on it's surface when it was placed there.

His mouth drooled with saliva and the imagined taste of the concoction. Vincent, with precarious control of the Galian's legs, trod towards her. Restless. The journey on all 3 was slightly perturbing the psyche of the gunman. Yuffie seemed to ignore his odd behavior and appearance and took care of him while so vulnerabe.

The gunman's head rumbled appraisingly with the Galian's approval. Both of their personalities focused on the fact that this young woman was very capable in many ways. In the form of the Galian, Vincent ran into a different problem. The beast's digits did not have completely functional opposable thumbs. He did have the... but they weren't very nimble. Without thinking about it, but drawing on her experience with RedXIII, the shinobi offered the bowl down on the ground.

Vincent shrugged, nonchalantly and the Galian's hunger pushed him without thinking in eating from it on the ground.

"You know, Vincent, We are going to have to rel-ocate that, but I don't think a normal Dr. will be able too do it."

Vincent, busy eating, half heard her, but understood regardless. So did the Galian. The beast was kept satiated by both Vincent's newfound understanding with it.

-There is something wrong with my leg.../ Pain in leg.

-We need to fix it/fix pain-

-yes/fix-

-Yuffie will do this for us/Female trust-

-yes/fix-

He needed to have his leg popped back in. Vincent Valentine mimed his leg and mimed the procedure of re-locating it, as a human would. Yuffie shook her head. The ex-turk, as best he could within his new body limit mimed, giving himself tranquilizers and being brought somewhere. He pointed to a set of tranquilizers darts Yuffie seemed to be wearing along with her new Wutain white, black and grey Kunoichi uniform

"You're in complete control right now. I can see that. Why wouldn't I treat you other than a human being? You can decided to come along with us no?"

The beastly looking gunman looked around the room for something to communicate further but was out of ideas! Without the verbal, he couldn't communicate to Yuffie that he was afraid for those around him. He didn't know if the Galian would be a placid side passenger for very long...

He fretted.

Strangely he felt his ears woosh and plaster back behind his head, knowing that they were mimicking his mood and slumping down creating a trully puppy face-like expression, accented by the fact that he actually did look like some kind of dog. Vincent briefly saw ç sadness in Yuffie's eyes before she went back to her cheery self.

"I know you're just concerned for us. If it'll make you feel better then... alright" Yuffie addressed the dominant psyche in the creature's body. "But, I want you to know that I trust you anyways. I always have, even when you're like this."

The Ex-Turk lowered his face in a regretful-looking expression. It was difficult in his anthropomorphic features to tell what he was actually relating as emotions. Relenting to Vincent's plea that she do so, the shinobi took a vial of tranquilizer and injected it expertly into a vein that looked vaguely the same as the human jugular.

Galian's psyche passed out at the same time as Vincent's.


	12. The splitting backtogether headache

Learning to meet halfway.

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**

Chapter 12: The Splitting/backtogether headache.

* * *

o0o

He didn't so much wake up... as shot up!

Tripping over a clean cotton sheet, wires and tapes to his fingers and ripping a needle that painfully pricked his arm. Disoriented and panicked, the smell of sterility and cleaners making him gag. He fell almost face-first since his legs wouldn't support him. Turning his head to look at what was wrong with them... they were... pink! Actually, beige...

But what was even more frighteningly was his legs were bending the wrong way! It was at this point the Galian lost it! Kicking and roaringly yelling in a voice that was not his own, he shred at the constricting garment he'd been covered with. Noticing a different garment than the usual leather was what he was wearing. Only his left arm felt remotely familiar. Covered in brass-like metal and clawed as usual. He had the eerie feeling the tips of his paw had been cut on his right.

Galian startled at the rush of footsteps nearing. Probably alerted by the incessant beeping the machine had started to produce once he'd ripped out the wires attached him to it.

A door opened, revealing white and a green clad humans.

A white lab-coated... human! A LAB-COATED HUMAN! He was shaking... especially this defenceless and weak! He jumped back towards the bed, bumping it backwards. It screeched on the floor, sliding a few feet as he pressed his back on it. Frightened. His lower legs slid on the tiled floor, slippery from sweat he could feel forming coldly on his fur-less body. His breath came quickly, his side hurt!

"_-_- _" The human approached him arms wide and palms upturned.

Galian hated this type of human in white material. If he'd had hackles they would be raised! With this body that wasn't his, he contented himself in snarling and showing his pitifully short fanged teeth. Swipping with his only weapon, the clawed brass hand. A warning to the others to keep their distances. Figuring he could flee by the door the others had come from if he got them away from it by threatening them with his claw.

He tried to make his oddly bent legs working. It proved to be incredibly difficult to hold a bipedal pose. Remaining on all fours, he inched at the edge of the bed down around the rooms' edge to get to the entrance eyeing the intruders in fear.

"-_-_ Vincent ? -_-_" The human spoke words again, trying to get to him.

He knew that name. Some others used it for addressing him. Galian held the claw up once more between himself and them. How had he gotten here!? How could he get out! How...? How...?

"Yuffie..." The crimson eyes shot up in surprise, hearing itself mouth the name of his female comrade with a suprisingly supple mouth and tongue. The word-name sent the white clad humans in a flurry of movements. The green clad one left the room, while the white one adopted a relaxed posture.

"Yuffie -_-_ here."

Galian blinked, unsure. He felt cold and dizzy. A packmate was here?

-stay- A voice in his head again. It was faint... should he?

The attending Dr. of the hospital cautiously addressed the nusring staff behind him.

"Get miss Kisaragi in here... or anyone from AVALANCHE, I don't care. I think he's going into shock."

As he spoke, Galian shackilly tried to understand what was being said and what was going on with his body. He felt with both hands, a snoutless face. Missjudging the clawed hands he cut his cheek and yelped. Startled at the pain. Shackilly he bent down from his two unsteady legs and tried again to pass the white clad human who obviously had other ideas and did not intend to move from the door frame.

He snarled half-heartidly. -out- a word supplied into his mind from the voice. Conflicting messages. -Stay/out/remain-

"OUT!" He snarled, garbling the words in his new mouth. Knowing that spoken command at least.

The lab-coated human exited the room but closed the door, surprising Galian by his actions. Angering it seconds after when it realised it was shut in. Shuffling towards it, he hit it with the brass claw, testing its hardness. Staring at the knob for a moment

-Turn to open-

With his right slender pink hand, he turned the know, surprised at the dexterity it had.

-locked- the voice supplied.

He yelled in frustrated outrage as he realized what that meant. He banged at the door and clawed at it. He stared down at his body again... freezing in place and trembling. Suddenly cold again. He whimpered. Weak! So... weak... he ungracefully slumped with its back to the door and gathered into a fetal position.

'I'm scared/-so scared- ' Both the voice in his head and him agreed. He remained in this position shacking... Cold... so cold... the room is spinning!

*scratch...scratch ... *

Galian extracted his sweaty balmy head out of his fetal embrace. Listening. Accompanying the scratches was an odd exhaling.

A... chuff.

-"Hey! Hello"- The chuff translated from his senses and perspective. Animal-speak.

Turning, the galian lay himself on his stomach, looking underneath the floor. There were red paws moving at the bottom of the door. They were alternatively scratching gently at the door while their owner chuffed once again topped with a barely perceptible mewl at the end of it...

-"Can I come in? "- was the translation.

A soft wet nose appeared on the other side, poking gently at the frame. Galian cautiously approached it with his own face. His smell was dulled, but he stretched as close as he could to the bottom of the frame to inhale. A familiar scent, another packmate! Strong muscles, 4 legs, a tail, fur, a comrade. -RedXIII- the voice told him.

Galian shacking pushed himself back on his 4 limbs, his left clawed arm clicking and the right one lifting once again at the door knob. Briefly forgetting the fact that it should be locked. He turned it. The lock had been lifted apparently, since it turned fully and he could pull the door open. Fully revealing a familiar friend.

With his current shocked state, broken bones, bruised chest, white pasty sweating skin and stressed expression, RedXIII had never seen Vincent in such a bad state. However he quickly realized this was not Vincent by body posture alone as the other approached him.

Slouching on all fours?

Galian was overjoyed to see Nanaki. He practically collapsed and whimpered on top of the other beast. Crooning, the other nipped with blunt teeth, the scruff of the others' neck.

- "I'm so glad to see you friend." - Was what the Galian was trying to say.

"Vincent?" RedXIII asked cautiously, the young voice inflected. The other was behaving oddly. Luckilly, Nanaki was familiar enough with this kind of gestural speech that he reciprocated the gesture, nipping Vincent's scruff once.

- "Me too" -

Cosmo Canyong's body language spoke better to him than the human jibberish. The voice was so faint and did not always tell him what was going on. RedXIII's paw lifted slightly off the ground, both his ears flicked backwards once and his tail jerked upwards once before resuming its normal swishing side to side. Galian understood it as the question it was:

- "Remember, how you came here?" - how/here/come/know? in a more rudimentary form.

Galian shifted his body on his left side, lifting his right hand slightly.

-Here/now. - / -Say Yuffie- The voice inside his head supplied.

"Yuffie." it managed to verbalize.

Along with its limited body parts to posture as RedXIII was. Galian could only communicate half of what it wanted but it couldn't speak more than a few adjective and nouns. A veritable conversation between the red-fured beast and Galian's mind in Vincent's body ensued simply by body language. Nanaki was confused a moment when Vincent's alter-ego mentioned a 'Head voice' telling him things. It was just as RedXIII was going to ask him about it that Yuffie rand down the corridor and barged into the room.

"Vincent!"

Galian/Vincent jumped up, forgetting it ever had a problem walking upright on 2 legs, he closed the distance between himself and the young ninja. Embracing her in the manner humans did.

"Vincent I was so scared! I'm so glad your fine!"

"...Yuffie? " The man had a few seconds of lucidity. Then the Galian was back. "Yuffie...?" His feet were giving out. He slid down, staring blankly ahead.

-We are lost/I am lost/We're lost- / Go back into my MIND! / Vincent and Galian grabbed their single head. It hurt!

RedXIII was there to help ease him to the floor and Yuffie looked concerned.

"It hurts!/HURTS." They growled

"What does Vincent?" Cosmo Canyon's prompted.

"Our... my... his mind... mine..." The raven haired man panted groaning, still holding his head. Bending over Yuffie took hold of him, trying to comfort him. Both his hands left his head, holding her forearms. He was shacking, so cold to the touch and sweating.

The ninja, wide eyed turned to Nanaki. "Should we call the Doctor?"

"I don't think so, I think he needs to internalize something... Galian was here before you came in. I think that for just a moment... they were the same being."

Vincent's claw was biting into her leg as he was holding her.

"Yuffie... Yuffie...!" He kept calling her name as a mantra. She was his anchor. Their anchor.

-She is my comrade, my friend- / Our hunting partner, our packmate-

-Both/together- We need to listen to each other. / Agreed. I can't fight without you / I can't understand without you. I'm half a person. I'm half a creature. I invite you / I accept you. Together/Halfway.

Blissfull nothingness...

o0o

Viturin stared down at the man that looked so much like him. He turned the device he had used on Reeve off. Removing the second device from Vincent's temple.

'Analysis of mental state completed, full assimilation of alternate fragment personality is successful.'

Shelke considered the clone a moment. Turning to the others, she saw their beffudled expressions and realized they all expected her to explain what Viturin meant.

"Valentine's alternate form... the Galian. Seems to have been an non-integrated splinter of his personality."

The 16 year looking clone kept busy working on some unknown medical procedure around Vincent. Ignoring any of the odd looks the nurses gave him as he rummaged around, simply putting order and cleaning things in a faint display of OCD(Obsessive compulsive disorder). The former Deepground Tsviets smiled slightly, finding humour in the other's oddity. She was perhaps as odd as he was. Well... they all were.

"Let me explain it in the lobby, we have insufficient space for proper debriefing it here."

Outside in the waiting room she continued. Yuffie, RedXIII, Cloud, Cid and Cait Sith were present. Cid was leaning in the doorframe giving way to the main lobby of the hospital. Cait stood upright on a sofa to be closer to eye-level for conversation. Everyone else remained standing. Some of the hospital patients seemed a bit intimidated by the odd group but, for the most part, recognizing them for AVALANCHE either looked at them in semi-hero worship or tried to pointedly ignore them. It depended on how strongly they believed ShinRa's lies about them being the cause for Sector 7's pillar collapse.

Shelke continued.

"Hojo's experiments. Some of them were... to do with psychology and mental states. By mental states I mean, the state one achieves to survive horrible hardships."

Cloud groaned audibly and rubbed his face. Everyone turned at this. An outward expression from their former leader often was a precursor to him talking.

"Well... I suppose he'd have to develop some kind of mental way to cope with such a sick person doing, whatever he's done, to Vincent..."

Leaving it at that, everyone digested the information and reacted to the little bits of information they knew of what had happened to their comrade. He'd never spoken about any of it to them. Had never actually... explained anything, about what had been done to him... Except for Reeve who had his hands on his files and hadn't been inclined to share them. Everything they knew, was gathered from his obvious hatred of Hojo and what the mad scientist had done to others. They assumed the rest and pieced it together from there as they had journeyed.

"I believe, as Shelke does and Viturin has confirmed, that the Galian may be Vincent's fight or flight responses. His primal rage, fear and self-preservation as an alternate personality. It was separate as another personality from him but was still within the recesses of his mind."

Nanaki supplied, cutting their contemplations on the atrocities performed on the former Turk by ShinRa's lead scienties.

Shelke nodded. "Something has either happened to his mental state, whereas he is now absorbing the Galian and he is returning somewhat to whom he was before. Or..." The woman in a child's body assumed a thoughtful pose, considering a moment how she should phrase it.

Viturin startled her as he came from behind and supplemented her thinking.

"Subject was infected by Emeric strand virus during physical contact. Assimilation impossible on partial genetic source of contagion. Rejection imminent."

"Uh... what in darn blazes does that mean?" Cid said what everyone else was thinking.

"It means Valentine was bitten by Emeric. If that madman is a clone of him, then both of them are genetic contributors or foundations to the Deepdog or... werewolf-like virus which he's using to infect people with and create more Deepdogs. Galian might just be an unsuccessful manifestation that Hojo couldn't get to work properly with Valentine." Shelke explained.

The red-fured cat/lupine nodded. "I think that's plausible. Now that Vincent seems to have absorbed Galian, should we expect a completely different person?"

This was what concerned all of them the most. With Emeric still on the loose, none of them felt comfortable leaving all of the information-gathering to the ShinRa Turks. They were incredibly concerned for the well-being of Vincent of course. However, they needed some kind of lead after a full week of nothing but silence.

Yuffie huffed.

"Of course he won't change! Even if he's got the Galian, you know he's not that bad!" The ninja turned towards all of them. "Yeah he might have had a bad temper, but he stuck out for us in fights remember? He's never hurt any of us, neither did Vincent. He'll be fine!"

The youngest of them seemed to be stating this to herself more than anything else. Her hands were up and close to her body. Cloud strode up to her and ruffled her head.

"Squirt's right! We shouldn't worry about him so much, he's tougher than he looks."

Yuffie glared at him and tried to pat back her hair in place. Cid plopped a cigarette out of his pack and started chewing on the filter of one of his cigarettes, a sure indication he was about to loose his patience and needed a smoke.

"In the meantime, since Deepground is getting quieter with Emeric gone, we should leave the rest to the WRO. I know we all have our own missgivings about the Turks, but we need their help in this." Cloud felt it was natural, directing each person's abilities and focusing them. As he'd done as leader of AVALANCHE.

"Cid, Shelke, Red. Take Viturin with you back to Cosmo and work from there with Tseng. We need to keep this clone under watch, learn about the infection and ways to counter it."

The blonde indicated with a nod, the teenage clone of Vincent. Blinking it fell in line with Shelke naturally. Having no purpose or personality to speak of, he seemed to take commands as an automaton.

Cid shrugged. "Fine with me, ya just call me if you need n'other lift.

"Yuffie, me, Barrett, Tifa and Reeve... uh... I mean Cait. We have the WRO's resources and the other Turks can help us locate possible ShinRa labs and hideouts Emeric might be operating from. Are they still trying to get info from the backup harddrive?"

"Ifn' ye be patient we'll have the locations in no time!" The robot chirped. Its un-colored silver metal skin casing at odds with the usual cartoon cheerful Cait Sith they were used to.

"Hey Reeves! If you can hear through that thing! Get it some new fur suit or something! Its like Cait's naked!" Yuffie hollered.

"Lass! I'll have you know that me being silver an'all is akin to wearing a tuxedo! I just go polished and all that! " Cait Sith countered, its tone angry as well as offended. Cid and Nanaki chuckled. Cloud hit the hilt of his sword loudly to get people's attention.

"If we're all done here. Cait, can you stay with Vincent? Once he wakes up, you can get him up to speeds. If he doesn't seem up to it, let us know through Reeves."

"Righty-o" The cat jumped off the couch it had been standing on and waddled towards Vincent's ward. The others started to leave... Yuffie strayed behind momentarily.

'Vincent... I hope you'll be alright. Come back to us... Come back to me.'

She really hoped he wouldn't feel as lost as she felt without him right now.

o0o

* * *

Dec 05

OMG an update! In what? Half a year! I can't believe I'm getting back into this... and its so late (1am 0_0) I probably have a majillion typos. I'll get back to it I promise!

I must apologize to everyone for not posting regularly on this particular story! Especially those that have been following it throughout the years. I intend to finish it first and foremost amongst all my fics here and I already know how its going to play out in the end so it shouldn't be too bad!

Bare with me! The next chapter should be out in the next 2-3 days or so. I have the drafts on paper, now its just transfering them on the computer. Chapter 14 should follow close behind in the same week (hopefully).

How many chapters are left (some of you may ask)? I estimate about 5-7, for a total of 20.

To look forward to  
#1: Cloud's wedding.  
#2: The pairing meant for this Fic getting together (Yuffentine).  
#3: More character development for the 'Leavitt' Bayan Haranu, Ryoto & Ryoichi Ohanzee and Kazi Harding.  
#4: Viturin and Shelke... may have something going on. (Wouldn't that be cute? The Computer (Lucretia memory) girl with the Robotic (Vincent) Clone?

Let me know in the reviews!


	13. My Flesh and Blood

Learning to meet halfway.

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**

Chapter 13: My Flesh and blood

* * *

o0o

Yuffie was startled from her mental checklist exercise when a coffee mug was placed in front of her on the table. Disturbing the 6 surveillance screen scene she'd been starting at for the last 4 hours.

"Thanks Kazi." She immediately recuperated from her daze and picked up the steaming beverage, inhaling the aroma of Chai it contained.

The redhead inclined his head slightly, short cropped hair still wet from a shower. His shift would start in an hour. He'd just woken. She glanced at the clock which blinked 3:00AM.

"Any new activity?"

The Kunoichi slightly shrugged her shoulders. "Well, besides that same power increase in intervals down in the submarine docks. It really might just be a malfunction... I've been keeping an eye on the accesses to the area though. No movement since my shift started."

3 days ago, Tseng and Reeve had agreed to assign Kazi Harding and Yuffie Kisaragi surveillance of the Junon docks. There had been a bio-marine lab here once but it was in a run-down hazardous area known as the submarine docks which ShinRa hadn't used or upkept in the last 3 years. However, power spikes had been detected. It was as good a lead as any they had of finding Emeric and they decided to keep a watch on it.

The only problem; Junon was the largest port city on Gaea. The docks and warehouses were enormous as well as numerous! A literal haystack.

They had to install additional cameras around the docks outside of actually tapping in Junon's dock security. It wouldn't be helpful if Emeric KNEW they were watching it, so it had to be done under the radar... so to speak.

If Vincent's cooky-clone decided to lie low awhile, it would still be a challenge finding him, let alone anywhere else. So they had to be cautious with their movements and communications. Paper orders were passed between the Turks and Leavitt as well as between them and Reeve on the topic. Cloud had been doing some nice business with his plain old-styled delivery service.

She chuckled a bit at the thought.

Kazi lifted an eyebrow at her with a slightly curious look, wondering at what she found humorous. The young Leavitt was just a year older than her, but so serious! She wondered if he had a girlfriend. If he did, kudos to her! With only 3 days of getting acquainted between them, the wutain noble was already irritated by his overly formal mannerism.

"Did we get that infrared camera yet?" She tapped her foot down to get some blood flowing into it, feeling it had cramped a bit.

The Leavitt shook his head. "No miss Kisaragi, it will hopefully arrive with the next paper message delivery tomorrow in the eve. Along with Cait Sith from what I understand."

Yuffie sipper her Chai a bit. "You know, you don't need to be so formal with me Kazi. I'm like... your age and stuff." His blue eyes avoided her gaze a moment and he blushed faintly, but otherwise kept a serious face.

"I'm used to and would prefer remaining professional when addressing co-workers and superiors. I'm sorry if it bothers you.

"huh..." Yuffie seemed slightly confused. "Who said I was your superior?"

"Mr. Valentine, miss."

The shinobi rubbed her eyes a bit, his answer seemed to confuse her and so Kazi continued. "Before deploying to Deepground with Ryoichi and Ryota and you, he gave us additional orders. In the events of any treachery from the Turks that we should seek new directives from you."

Her recently mako tainted caramel eyes widene. Especially at the show of trust Vincent had lain on her without conferring with her. 'Wow... he really thinks I'm capable of leading a military faction?' Yuffie pondered this for a moment. 'I would have thought he'd refer them to Cloud. I mean... he has all that formal SOLDIER training after all! Why me? Does this mean he thinks I'm as capable as the others?! No one in AVALANCHE seems to think so.'

"Um... miss?" Kazi interrupted her very deep train of thought. The far-away look she must have been making had worried him it seems.

"ARGH! Just call me one more time and I'll hit you behind your cherry coloured head!" She surprisingly chirped loudly. Tapping the ground with a tabi-booted shoe for emphasis, she stood up. Kazi blinked blue eyes at her, taken aback. Though otherwise didn't back down from her overexhuberance.

"Thanks for the Chai, time for a little physical run around the docks. Get ready to be bored out of your mind!"

Kazi put his own mug on the coffee table. "Not at all miss... Yuffie."

She huffed and grumbled indignantly at his half-compromise. She shuffled on out into Junon's graveyard shift early morning patrol.

o0o

Back at the hospital, Cait Sith's motion detector brought it out of sleep-mode. The patient on the bed he was next to seemed to have moved. The toy-like robot observed the man a moment. He had woken without any prior shuffling and had sat upright. Vincent seemed focused on something far off. So deep in thought he wasn't registering anything around him. With his faster than normal healing abilities, the bruises on the man's body and the pain from a dislocated hip and surgeries must be practically none-existent (Or so Cait Sith believed). However Vincent himself seemed lethargically taking in his surroundings. Blinking slowly and turning his head looking around him. Strangely. Not at all nervous as the cat robot would have expected him to be while being surrounded by medical implements.

The ruby eyes finally spied him. With a very inexpressive face betraying no internal thoughts he finally spoke.

Slowly and halteringly, "What happened... to your fur?" he mouthed. Almost as if unsure of how to speak.

"Ah! Well... let me introduce my fine self. Cait Sith Mark 6!"

"..." The ruby eyes blinked once.

Shrugging the blankets and turning in the bed slowly, Vincent eyed the cardiovascular machine registering his heartbeat. Calmly he turned it off, removing the sensor from his fingertip and as methodical, extricated the IV drip from his forearm.

The toy-cat bent a head in a curious expression, whilst sending a message to its master that Vincent was awake.

"Vincent, d'ya really think ye be up to all this muck'in about?"

The black haired man simply stopped a moment, turned his head towards the toy-cat with the same bland expression and then went back to ignoring him.

Seemingly concentrating on testing his balance after a whole week of being bed-bound. The metal claw braced him on the side of the bed and while he wavered for just a slight moment he quickly recuperated and seemed to be searching for something in the room. Seeming to get more and more confidence in his actions as he moved around. Cait Sith, which had been sitting on the edge of the side-table plopped down and opened the drawer, removing its contents. A set of casual clothes left behind for Vincent by his friends. It waddled to the raven haired gunner and once he was acknowledged by him, extended his arms up for Vincent to collect them. The ruby eyes still inscrutable, with brief sparks of their usual emotions. He bowed his head sligthly as a thanks.

"So I'm glad ye feel better Vincent but catcha at least acknowledge an ol'friends' worries?"

The lips drew into a tight line and removing the hospital garbs in favour of the change of cloths he answered.

"I'm fine, just have alot on my mind..."

The cat struck a pose, hand on a chin and the other tucked under the armpit bending in a cartoon-ish thoughtful expressin.

"O'course that'd be normal! However, there's nothing for yee to be worried about! All'o ye friends have everything under control!" As usual Cait Sith rolled all of its Rs in that irish like drawl.

Vincent paused mid-way drawing the shirt over his head.

"We hav'a few teams watching for that Emeric fellow. Shelke and RedXIII are back in Cosmo doing some research on that little kiddo Viturin!" Cait Sith extended and waved its hands out expressively explaining. "Once yee can, I'll give ol'Strife a call! He'll bring ye ta'where ye want to go!"

The gunman pulled the shirt down the rest of the way listening to the automatron's explanation. Face still fairly emotionless, he pulled his golden claw in view and gave it some odd taps with his other hand.

"Its... gone." Vincent stated. His voice inflection hinted at a slightly disbelieving question. One he expect no answers from.

The cat cocked its head again. "What?" It asked, completely puzzled at his tone of voice.

The golden claw lifted to side of the tall man's head. Careful smf mindful of the pointed ends of the wicked appendage, Vincent cupped his head.

"The voice in my head."

Reeve Tuesti meanwhile, who was in mid conversation with Cloud, paused.

Feeling a message being passed to him by his counterpart. Receiving the puzzled confusion of Cait Sith along with information and its best guess as to Vincent's state of health. The two of them, robot and master, shrugged simultaneously.

Cloud, regularly used to the spaced-out looks Reeve would have one in a while. Waited to hear what this was about...

o0o

Fenrir's motor would have drowned out any conversation between the two of them. If it weren't for the fact that both of them had higher than normal senses which compensated. Reeve had told Cloud through Cait, that Vincent wanted a pick-up to swing by the 7th in order to change into full-gear. The younger man had had his doubts about Vincent being well enough to be up and about. However, the man waiting at the hospital's entrance had no wobbling or any kind of hesitation. Getting up and behind him on the seat of his motorcycle with ease.

Cloud was observant of his opponents and surroundings. A habit of swordfighting and melee tactics. One never knew what could happen in a fight! He subconsciously sized up people's ability and health without really intending to. This training served its purpose once in a while and he knew that Vincent was almost fully back to perfect health. No one would be walking just after having a hip surgically refitted in their basin without some kind of physiotherapy. No normal person that is! Both he and the gunman weren't exactly the average joe.

"Reeve... or should I say Cait's been telling us you're not very talkative since you woke up." He leaned to the right and turned into an exit, maneuvering through Edge at an easy speed.

The blonde referred to the robot that had stayed behind to do some damage control at the hospital. The staff had thrown a fit after noticing one of their patients waddling out their hospital's main entrance without discharge papers!

"..." Vincent did not deny or supply anything, effectively confirming Cloud's observations.

Taking his eye off the rod for a split second to glance at his friend, Cloud noticed the far-off look the gunman had. It was very familiar. The typical Vincent mannerisms he had before the whole Deepground crisis. In his mind, not necessarily a good sign. The Ex-Turk had regressed and the swordsman knew exactly why.

"Just another chapter in ShinRa's crazy story to keep us busy. You shouldn't let it bother you this much." He ventured an elbow jab behind him. Taking a chance at being a bit familiar with the taller man.

He feltVincent stiffen behind him. Bingo. He'd hit the sore spot, he knew. Not physically but mentally. Disturbing a festering wound and draining was better than letting it keep getting worse.

"We'll deal with Emeric, just as we've dealt with everything else. He's troublesome I know, but we're with you on this." He meant it with a determined sincerity.

Vincent didn't seem to relax.

"I..." The gunman started but seemed unsure what he was about to say or even if he should say anything at all. However after a brief pause continued. "My whole existence has been... a bother."

So this was what it was all about? Self-pity from Vincent? No... his voice's inflection was more angry than anything else. Cloud pondered further, trying to figure the other. It didn't seem directed at himself. More outwards at the universe. The gunman had no target (pun intended) and nothing to flail at.

"Used."

It was the only other word the gunman pronounced before going back into his odd vow of silence. If it weren't for the fact that Vincent was keeping his expressions and tone so evenly neutral, Cloud could not have told what he was thinking. Only the gunman's closest friends who had any insight about his skewered past would have been able to have any inkling as to his mental state right now.

"Vincent, you know that none of all of this was or is within either or our control".

The gunman tensed even further.

"Stop right here."

The command was final and laden with the anger Cloud had sensed simmering underneath. Finally exposed.

Secretly he was glad that Vincent was now venting it. Keeping it bottled in wasn't healthy. The blonde wondered if the older man had reacted finally because he'd used the word 'our' instead of 'your'. The fact was... it was entirely accurate. Neither of them had had a choice when it came to the things that had been done to them. Cloud slowed Fenrir and pulled to the side, they were halfway through edge. He imagined whatever Vincent needed to do now he wouldn't want a crowd for and found a back alley to pull in. Stopping the bike, the swordsman leaned right, his boot holding the vehicle propped up as Vincent expertly got off it. In simply cloths, the Ex-Turk looked particularly normal. However the claw was flexing at irregular intervals, indicating stress. The expressionless face that Vincent tried to retain during the whole time Cloud and his friends had known him was failing and the gunman was loosing that ability to remain calm altogether. It was very peculiar to see him like this. In distress. At the same time, it was indication that Vincent was healing.

"Your wrong Strife! You all are..."

Cloud propped Fenrir and slid of the bike, otherwise he sat on the edge of the seat waiting. It seemed Vincent needed to take something off his chest. Frankly, the young blonde thought it was about time and was glad he was confiding in him. Both of them had a few conversations in the last 3 years and had gotten closer as friends. Since the former SOLIDER had asked Vincent to be his best man, he'd felt the bond they shared became much more solid and real.

Vincent's gaze was downcast. "I..." His right hand lifted up mid wau and he seemed to glare at it accusingly, since it was shacking slightly.

"If you are a bother, then I'm one as well.. you know that." Cloud simply stated without any trace of self-pity or regret. Trying to find a common ground with what he believed Vincent was trying to figure out.

The gunman's hand clenched into a fist and it shook more violently. Lifting his gaze towards the mako-tainted aqua ones. Holding them.

"Sephiroth..." That simple name caused the blonde's to narrow. A poignant emotion to flash in them. The ruby eyes focused further, almost nervous. Keeping contact with the blondes'. This was important.

"He was my son."

Cloud felt the blood drain from his face and confusion and regret fill him through and through. Why had the other reveal this to him now?! Why?! Knowing how much pain it would cause to both of them openning such old wounds.

"I had that choice."

The mako eyes couldn't keep up with the intense and emotionally wounded ruby ones and fell downwards. In deep thought, after just a brief moment he glanced up at Vincent again. A look of consolidated determination, Cloud decided to answer truthfully.

"That must of been hard." The spikey hair bounced as he nodded once in emphasis. "Keeping that to yourself."

He stood up and closed the distance between them. A strong gloved hand grabbed the other man's shoulder. Vincent's gaze had also drifted downward in shame and remained trained on the ground, despite the other's show of comradeship.

"Emeric's not you Vincent... and Sephiroth wasn't either." The grip tightened to the point were Cloud knew it would be painful. Snapping Vincent out of his self-recrimination and forcing him to pay attention. He slacked his grip when the Ex-Turk looked back up at him.

"Even if they are your flesh and blood... You can't control another living being's free will. Doing so would be no better than those we fight against for the same reasons. "

Cloud felt that this was good for the both of them.

Whilst Vincent had issues with his decisions and genetics contributing towards so much pain and misery, Cloud himself previously had problems accepting that others had sacrificed their lives for him. The least he could do was acknowledge that he had made the choice not to have those lives be lost in vain.

"While you may not have been able to choose what your own flesh and blood's done in the past or in the futur. You do have that option now to mitigate it." The swordsman attempted to smile, he felt something breaking between them. "I know I'll be making the choice to live up to my second chance from here on in."

Vincent's mouth tightened, teeth showing from withholding a poignant emotion that Cloud couldn't his finger on. His ruby eyes reflected it and whilst he wasn't willing to let Cloud see the full extent of the impact of his words, the swordsman already knew how much he had already and nodded once.

Breaking physical contact and going back to his bike. "Now lets get back to the others, we have a 'Remnant' to take care of."

As the former Turk recuperated enough to sit behind the blonde he added. "Wretched more like... I pitty Emeric. He's me, yet without having loved, without having had friends or anyone to related to. Hojo has been the only living being he's ever makes him beyond redemption."

Cloud barely having placed his goggle back on his eyes, regarded Vincent a moment. "A Wretch it is." Nodding once, he revved Fenrir once again and sped the rest of the way towards the 7th Heaven.

o0o

* * *

**Author's notes:**

Some closure on a topic I wanted to put in there. This chapter is meant as a solidifying foundation to Cloud's choice of Vincent as his best man and the fact that they are good friends.

Little by little, Vincent will bridge some gaps and old wounds between himself keeping him from relating to his friends better. Root for him! He's doing his best!

As for Hojo vs Vincent being the father. I vehemently believe Vincent is Sephiroth's true father end-of-story. So give me creative author liberty for it and just enjoy the story about clones and Vincent having F-up clone/twin siblings.


	14. Unexpected and Unlikely surprises

Learning to meet halfway.

**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**

Chapter 14: Unexpected and Unlikely surprises.

* * *

o0o

Junon was a nice enough city closer to the mountain cliff side it had been built upon, however the docks were grotesquely maze-like. Tubes and support beams for cranes and loading on the train bound formerly bound to Midgar and now Edge crossed from the docks all the way over the city itself.

Since the Mako reactor had been shut down and the city was now powered by an odd surf electricity generating technology Reeve had pulled out of his ass (more like a file cabinet somewhere ShinRa had to the key to) the city was under rotating curfews for power except for essentials.

'People are so adaptable!' Yuffie thought, jumping from one level to another of the railings overlooking the docks. She had memorized all the camera angles from the private security companies when they'd given a tour of the place early this week. Chocobos were much more in demand now, doing before what cars had done fueled by mako engines. It wasnt like the big birds weren't present. People had conveniently forgotten their uses and resilience years before ShinRa's marvelous mako electrical industry. Considering Wutai had never 'not' used the birds she felt some kind of smugness regarding the other countries: Corel,Gongaga, Junon, Midgar, Mideel, Modeo, Nibel and Wutai. Out of all of them Wutai was faring the best. Released from the collar of ShinRa, the once proud countries' natural non-reliance on Mako had been a strength and not a weakness as she had first thought.

Sure, she loved materia. They made awesome accessories with perks, but her country had come on top with commodities helping people survive without electricity; natural oil lamps & heaters, candles, products etc. A sunlight hue was peeking over the the mountain ridge very faintly by 4:00am. The Shinobi sighed, feeling a bit homesick, however she supposed she was needed here. No. Vincent definitely needed her here.

In the tricky long lengths of shadows morning brought, a movement caught her eye. An elongated shadow of someone hunched and pulling out something from what she imagined was a bin from the shadow's shape. The angle she was in was awkward, but there was something wrong with the profile of the silhouette. Especially since the dockworkers weren't in for another 2 hours, til 6:00 at the very earliest.

She tapped her mic, whispering. "Kazi... Kazi do you read?"

"Clearly, K...Yuffie." the earpiece transmitted.

"Do you have any cameras angled on Dock S over the submarine dock area? There's a 10-73 here."

She waited a moment. "Only one on Dock K, sorry."

The shadow extracated something from the bins and froze. Yuffie concentrated all her senses on the intruder on every detail, sound, smell, anything. The figure looked as if it was smelling the air like an animal, she heard long inhalations even from her spot a few hundred meters off, then it sneezed and she confirmed from the way it moved that it was absolutely not human. It shook and bolted quickly from the area down the dock and towards the submarine's condemned docks.

"Pursuing probable target, send in reinforcements. Down S docks."

-10-4. Sending WRO soldier detachment to your location.- She heard Kazi's calm and even voice before giving chase.

Jumping from bin to bin and from a railing, she remained in stealth-mode. Meaning... she stepped in a manner that made practically no sound. Tip toe down first and then putting weight on the heals in a soft spring-like manner, distributing her weight in controlled doses. It was extremely difficult for most to pull off, but almost second-thought to her by now. She'd trained and worked as a Shinobi all her life, following the footsteps of her mother. Avoiding angles where she would be more readily seen from the direction from whatever-it-was that had bolted she stopped around a large warehouse to hear the clicking of claws. Deciding she was close enough if she could hear them, she listened attentively.

The target was around the bend in front of the condemned doors of the Submarine docks. Carefully, mindful of light reflecting in the wrong direction. Yuffie brought her new left arm-guard up to her face. On the inside was a mirror and she slowly attempted to look around the corner of the storage building. That section was full of shadows and she could barely see her target standing in front of the entry to the underwater docks. It was definitely none-human, however it was bipedal. Those doors had been welded shut... or so she had thought Reeve would have made sure they were. But 'whatever-it-was' turned the lock on it and cracked it open. So they had either been cut open or never welded in the first place. It slid inside, closed the doors but didn't lock them afterwards.

'Hmm... ?' Yuffie thought. This actually might be Emeric. She was fairly certain. 'You think I'm that stupid...'

"Target has entered submarine docks, place guards at entry S. Proceeding to entry K." She whispered, expecting Kazi would relay the message to her backup.

-copy that-

The wutain ninja picked in a small pouch at her back and retrieved a small pouch wrapped around with a wire. Very carefully, she slid from her position as silently as possible and rigged the door with a trap if it were opened again. The bag was full of a powerful soporific in a powder-pouffish (as she would describe it) form that could knock out a Adamantaimai turtle with just a wiff.

Leaving the entrance, she left it unattended and informed Kazi of the trap so that none of the WRO would attempt it. She jumped and trudged her way to a 2nd access she knew of. However there was a fairly large problem with it: It was an electronic access panel and she didn't have any of the codes. She shrugged, oh well. One problem at a time!

o0o

"Here you go Vincent, that should do it." Tifa smiled, having finished pushing the last bit of clothing he'd owned in a backpack while he'd gotten into his spare work cloths. It was very early and he felt slightly bad that he'd awoken her and she'd gone through the trouble of getting his things together for a trip. Back in his black catsuit with the modified military fatigue vest he'd commissioned from the WRO, Vincent finished wrapping his trademark red bandana. It had been a month since he'd cut his hair. As with , many other things, the gunman's hair seemed as special as much the rest of his body was and had already grown mid-way down his shoulders by now.

"My thanks miss Lockhart".

Tifa laughed. "That'll be Mme Strife soon 've called me Tifa before! What makes you stop just now?"

The ruby-eyed sniper's lips tightened. His face tried to stop expressing itself but failing mid-way towards showing a bit of regretful shame. He used to be very good at holding a poker face. The skill seemed to have deserted him as of late.

"I'm sorry Tifa, I'm very poor company at the moment."

The barmaid kept her energetic good moon and still chuckling, clapped him on the shoulder. "Nonesense. I'm very glad your all right Vincent, we all are! You gave us quite a scare when you came back home the way you did."

"Ah! Hmmm.. about that, I'll pay for the damages of course." He was talking about the busted back door, claw marks, blood on the carpet and water damage all around the counter.

"Don't be silly!" The young martial artist went to the counter to clean the drinking glass she had recently offered to Vincent who'd guzzled the water down fairly fast. "Its nothing, especially with the money we've made during the crisis."

"But your getting married, won't you need that money for your honeymoon trip with Cloud?"

The long haired brunette turned around with a dotting smile. "Ah, so he finally told you and asked did he? I'm glad." She placed the glass on a towel, leaned on the small of her back on the counter "Nah, we'll be spending it at the villa in Costa Del Sol. We might as well use it for what its for!"

Vincent blinked a few times. Was he imagining it... or did Tifa seem, glowing, more than usual that was... Turning his attention back to the rest of his gear, he counted the clips and placed them in the appropriate pockets before standing up.

"When's the day?"

"Oh! He didn't tell you, his best man?!" The young woman rolled her eyes. "Ugh... Men!" Her aggravated look very quickly dissipated as she addressed her friend. "In about 3 months. Nothing big, just us, a few friends with a paparazzi period at the reception before we throw them out. You know how they are... the media."

She gave him the date and place, saying she'd send him a formal invite through Reeves or text. Of course anything major to do with the former AVALANCHE members would catch the eye of the media. Especially a wedding between said-members. They indulged the social journalistic world once in a while... HA brush with Barret's patience (or lack of) as well as Cloud Strife on a bad day of post-poned deliveries because of said-journalist, had made the tabloids much more cautious and aware of their timing. Lets leave it at that...

"Of course. I will be sure to remind Cloud of certain important appointments he has if you let me know of them as well..."

The young woman smiled warmly, her brown eyes affectionate. Vincent felt awkward and incredibly unused to open displays of affection towards him. Had his friends always been this close? Or was it just now that he was noticing?

"Thanks Vincent, I know I can trust you to remind him to get a suit for the big day."

A breathy single chuckle escaped Vincent before he caught the rest of his mirth. What was wrong with him? He walked around the kitchen table to the back where Cloud was packing some deliveries. His business had been put 'on-hold' for some time and the blonde was eager to get back to it.

Stepping down the stairs, he saw the metallic Cait Sith balanced on the back of Fenrir's seat, handing Cloud a package which the swordsman tucked into a side bag. He noticed Vincent then and motioned with his head at the automatron.

"Cait's coming with us. I have an infrared camera to bring to Kazi and Yuffie in Junon. Did you want me to bring you back to the WRO temporary headquarters or come with me?"

The gunman pondered. "I'd like to meet up with Yuffie and Kazi. Get back up to speed, help with the search."

"Sure." Cloud finished buckling the side bags and got onto his bike.

Cait Sith apparently was a regular passenger and had his own side bag on the left side of the bike . As a typical cat in a cardboard box, the mechanical kitty huddled into it and dextrously closed the hood over itself without any help. Vincent's eyebrow lifted minutely at this. Waiting for the blonde swordsman to finish putting his glasses. Pushing the stand off the side, he braced for his friend and the gunner easily slipped onto Fenrir in a comfortable position behind him. Mindful of his claw tearing or making any marks on the custom bike.

The motorcycled started up. Purring beautifully and they were off.

"So... I notice." Vincent started. "Tifa seems a little rounder."

Now it was Cloud's turn to straighten and stiffened on the bike. "Uhhh... yeah."

"I guess I need to re-congratulate you again or was this an unwanted surprise?"

"Well... not exactly unexpected, just... It was unlikely."

Cloud turned right on an exit off of northern Edge. The Ex-Turks silence seemed to be a question which the blonde felt he should address.

"I thought I was barren, you know? What with all that mako exposure I went through. Apparently not. So I'm happy about it, as much as we didn't plan to have a baby now. Especially with caring for Denzel and Marlene when Barrett's away."

The ruby eyes contemplated the back of Cloud who seemed to relax as he talked and explained. There was in fact, a note of happiness in the other man's voice.

"Then... congratulations."

"Thanks."

They remained silent up until the headed up the mountain passes of Edge. Vincent noticed they were taking a longer route pulling near Healin Lodge. He guessed it was for a delivery drop off and his hunch turned to be right as they pulled at one of the complexes. Cloud shyly apologizes for the delay but quickly drops the package, has the receipts signed and they are off again.

Junon was in sights over the mountain ridge. Simultaneously two different types of chimes went off to Cloud's right.

"Oh I forgot!" The swordsman reached into his pocket and extricated a simple black mobile device. "Gift from Reeve. You probably lost yours somewhere in Deepground. Same number and stuff."

Vincent accepted it with a thanks and since Cloud was driving, took the message which had apparently been sent to both of them. -Kazi Harding: Update/ The moon was full in Junon, real nice view. You should come over sometime.- It was a code they'd worked out in between themselves during training. Emeric had apparently been spotted and they were heading in for the kill, asking if any of the higher up personel was around. Namely him and Cloud.

"I believe they may have found Emeric."

"Serious?!" Subconsciously the warrior increased the bike's speed.

o0o

"Ok so... cross the wire off the lower panel into the top and re-plug it into that empty red port..."

Yuffie repeated into her mic.

-Yes, and then you should just be able to enter to open it by pressing enter without putting a pass code.-

Kazi's instructions worked and the door pushed inwards then slid. Stale air met her nose and she pushed a barrel in the jam. Kicking the console and breaking the thing so no one could close it behind her, just in case.

"I've been here once before. But just in case put up schematics will you Kazi?"

Yuffie unhooked the conformer from her back and peered into the submarine docks. The air was incredibly humid and smelt horribly stuffy, otherwise there was still emergency lighting inside that had been triggered by the door's opening. The steady sound of dripping inside gave the place an eeriness that set her teeth on edge. However she wasn't one to be easily daunted by that. She was the great Kisaragi! White rose of Wutai. She would kill Emeric for Vincent. Her teeth clenched painfully in anger. Remembering the demented clone. That sick creature of Hojo's. Why wouldn't the ghost of his past ever leave him alone?! She went in determined to make a kill.

o0o

* * *

**Author's notes:**

This one is a bit short like the last chapter. I didn't wan tmy more regular you think the next chapter would take so long like my last ones. So I'm updating smaller chapters. I might glue these together at some point, once the story is completed. But otherwise, I hope people prefer it this way, as I can more regular post them.

I have drafted ideas for the next few chapters and hope to complete the story next month! (New year's resolution is: finish the projects I start). Learning to meet halfway is definitely a project I am striving to complete.

Thank you to all my readers/fans. I love the reviews and live to please!


	15. Near miss

Learning to meet halfway

_**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters nor the setting of Final fantasy VII.**_

Chapter 15: Near misses

Forewarning: I did make this series 'M' for a reason so... yeah.

* * *

o0o

Yuffie Kisaragi was a guardian of the lifestream. A fearsome warrior, trained in the art of stealth and subtrefuge. She's first studied under her mother. Until her death during the Wutai wars when she had been 11. If she'd still be alive, she would have been proud of her daughter.

Not only for her part in saving the world from Sephiroth, the Remnants and the premature release of Chaos and Omega...but also just right now... Deep in the decrepit ruins of what had once been Junon's underwater reactor, was a true biohazard!

Pipes rusted and corroded from age and sea salt, water flowing through most passages, comming up to the ninja's mid-calves. While Yuffie Kisaragi was not a squeamish girl (unless you counted flying), sewer-like environments were not her top places. Yet this was her line of work. Every bit of attention to detail mattered; Determining where ripples in the water originated from, listening to the ambient sounds of the place. Picking up any disturbances in the flow of air, checking exits, mentally going through lists of gear and tools she had. Contingency plans and contingency plans. Always leaving yourself an out.

Although the white rose of wutai seemed somewhat of a klutz when she interacted with the other members of AVALANCHE. Following unnoticed, especially the great Vincent Valentine, took alot of skills! She had perfected those skills on the Ex-Turk. Her stealth assassinations of Deepground soldiers and Deepdogs as she tailed him through the ShinRa mansion, Midgar and the Deepground complexe (unnoticed), was one of her greatest moment of pride! Sure... she had flopped her entrances. Both times! UGH! But she could still try and dream of being as cool as he was right?

Oh well... he probably thought her incompetent. What with needing rescue and all. She really wanted to prove to him she could be of here she was! Ninjato on her left hip, Conformer on her back, 4 shurinken on a leather string on her left hip, 2 flashbombs and 2 tranquilizing darts in her back pouch, blowgun in her armguard, ropewire and dagger in her boot. Yup! Definitely ready for battle, Wutai-style. The light of Junon's underwater reactor was very inadequate. Green emergency lightin here and there. Some hadn't survived 3 years of neglect and use. And those that did were irregular in intervals. The shadows though... were Yuffie's friends. She wove between areas cautiously.

"Kazi, do you copy?" She whispered.

-copying ***u Yuffie, but bare**, " The radio seemed to cut through some of the thick walls and water. However if she were to continue, she'd loose communication without a signal booster.

"Target didn't remain in S dock area, I'll have to dig deeper." She paused to think a moment.

-suggest you **** for backup. - Kazi suggested. It was a very sound piece of advice but something really bugged her.

"If Emeric's here, he must have some kind of underwater vehicle. We'll loose him if he gets to it and releases the dock clamps."

As if on queue she heard a change in the ambient sounds of the area. An odd reverberation that hadn't been there a while ago.

"Shit!"

-Yuf*** **** don*** -

As if almost walking on top of the water itself, the shinobi ran through the corridors towards the dock pads. Feet, bend ankle, out, launch, toe first dip, repeat. A method to trudge through water without being slowed down in quick successions. She almost rammed into one of the metallic doors that led to what she remembered to be a dry-commons room for staff before boarding. The other 2 doors had red lights that outlined a word. 'unpressurized'. Conveniently, she had run into the only one that seemed to still have cabin pressure. Still, an automatic door with passcode. She bent quickly and popped the panel open, going to work by perfect eidetic memory of the last panel Kazi had showed her to bypass.

If the submarine was still docked and had an opened door, there could be no way the cabin was still pressurized! Whatever Emeric was doing, he hadn't left yet. She had to get to him first! And there...

The door swung into and then open. Pure darkness greeted her on the other side.

o0o0o

"Yuffie! Please don't! Its a trap!" Kazi harding yelled, but it was no use.

The WRO soldiers had gotten to S with the foresight of bringing with them a signal booster box. There was no reason that Yuffie's radio would be emitting static so badly. Unless there was a scrambler closer to her and stronger than the signal booster.

"Fuck!" Kazi forgot himself.

Gathering his own weapons and equipment in various pockets as well as a nylon satchel next to the mountain of other specialized equipment in the room. He left the observation station in a pitched hurry. Running, the redhead's mind was going through a series of scenarios. None of them pretty. He needed to find that signal scrambler. Else wise anyone within its scramble range fell into radio silence and wouldn't be able to effectively backup.

"Attention WRO squad posted at submarine dock S. This is Leavitt special agent Harding. Remain in position. I will be heading to dock K to remove a scrambler, wait for my signal to enter behind me for support. Keep all other squads informed"

He repeated twice, the deafening sound of simple motorcycle he was using to get to the submarine docks causing him almost to miss the confirmation. His heart was beating extremely fast as he almost jumped from the vehicle and dove into the dilapidated underwater reactor. Sacrificing stealth for speed, Kazi extricated a reader from his inside the satchel he'd grabbed. It crackled and beeped as he pointed it around and listened to its nuances.

Something then brushed his feet under the foot-deep water he was standing in. Jumping and splashing about, Kazi flattened himself on one of the curved walls of the hallways. Whatever the thing that had brushed him felt fairly rubbery.

"What the heck is in there?"

The young Leavitt rummaged around in his pockets and found a flashlight. He clicked it on, trying to shine it onto the water. However it proved futile. Only managing to bounce the light of the lamp off the water's surface and creating reflections in the hallway. Unable to pierce the shallow depths of the murky water and whatever the thing had been.

"Ha... this is not the time to be freaking out about a fish brushing your leg Kazi."

The redhead kept the flashlight open, figuring it didn't matter if he drew attention to himself. It was fairly obvious the scrambler had been placed intentionally in the underwater reactor to cut radio signal. If it was a trap, there would no point in stealth. He sincerely hoped that Yuffie Kisaragi could take care of herself. Any kind of help wouldn't do her harm though. Especially if she were to need the backup of the WRO soldiers stationed right outside the docks themselves.

The young stealth-op trainee picked his detector back up and flicked passed it around again. Determining the scrambler should be either around another bend and forward a bit. The water was making his suit-pants extremely heavy and had unpleasantly filled his shoes... which made him sluggishly slow.

He fell back first into the water! Whatever had at first brushed his leg, had now charged at him. Tripping him. That was no ordinary fish!

While Kazi thrashed, he hadn't forgotten to keep his equipment above the damaging effects of the water and his Flashlight and detector were kept out of it by his outstretched arms. Unfortunately it took more time for him to get his balance back and stand. Briefly he saw what looked like a triangular red blob floating on the surface of the water, before the thing jumped at his mid-waist. Kazi instinctively dropped the flashlight and punched whatever-it-was jumping at him. The creature went flying backwards and with the last flickering lights of the lamp as it filled under the water. He could distinctively see that it was some kind of manta-ray...

A 'Diver Nest'*. The aquatic creature took some time to get itself righted again. Especially since it needed to flop around in such shallow water. With a flick of its flipper-wings it redressed itself and rounder... then the flashlight gave out under the water and it went invisible.

"Kuso!" Kazi quickly took his handgun from his hoster, strapped over his Leavitt uniform.

As he had been training to do he imagined the last place it had been and if it had moved where it would have swam. Flicking the safety off with a swift movement of his thumb he shot into the water. The bullet ricocheted back upwards. A miss. He blinked, his eyes readjusting from the flashlight to the lower light conditions. Quickly Kazi shuffled out of the middle of the hallway and tried to manoeuvre to the tubes suspended midway had just basic knowledge of Diver Nest-rays, the redhead wondered what to do now?! Yuffie was counting on him! The WRO was waiting for a signal for him to come and backup safely. He didn't have time to deal with a big fish!

Suddenly, a 'big wave'** formed at the far end of the corridor, the only indication he had before it submerged the upper half of his body was that the level of the water had dropped quickly, just as a Tsunami did. Still keeping a tight grip on the detector and his handgun, Kazi held his breath and launched himself away from the wall, letting the wave drag him farther into the corridor.

He hit the far wall at an intersection. Whilst drenched, he was not as disoriented as he would be, had he fought the wave and tumbled in it. When the level of the water returned to normal Kazi's eyesight had somewhat adjusted to the faint emergency lighting present in the reactor. Faintly he saw a shadow do a turn in the water and putting some distance between itself and him for another lunge. He'd knew the creature jumped out of the water. He had just punched it the last time. Bracing himself, the Leavitt leveled his gun towards where the ray had swam. Sure enough, he heard a splash and then the large red blob was jump-lunging at him.

His heart seized seeing its lamprey-like toothed mouth dead ahead of him. He squeezed the trigger on his handgun and heard a satisfying hit, followed by a large rubbery flop at his feet as the creature lay twitching in its death-throws.

Not having time to be particularly satisfied with his victory, Kazi spat the seawater that remained in his mouth and wiped at his face, leveling the detector again. It was literally in within a few feet of him if the pitch sound of the device was any clue. Squiting, trying to find a metal box of somekind, the redhead coughed a bit and found it in the upper corner of the bed wedged between some pipes and hooked to 2 wires feeding it power.

He leveled his handgun again and destroyed it.

As the device flopped down, Kazi noticed the 2 wires for power feed... were in fact 3.

"Fuck...me."

- BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM -

o0o

The place literally rumbled and creaked. Metal put under stress and water sloshed.

"Oh my. It does look like your friends found the scrambler."

The darkness spoke with Vincent's seductive deep voice.

"Emeric."

The place echoed and reverberated sounds, the ninja had trouble making out anything in the room in front of her. Placing her hand on her ninjato, the shinobi took a step-back from the frame. Still peering into the total darkness of the pressure cabin intensely. Two glowing ruby eyes suddenly opened 30 meters away from her and then the lights flickered open. Emergency lights again. Lighting the pressure cabin fairly well because they had not been in regular use in the last 3 years it seemed.

The insane clone of Vincent Valentine sat maddeningly calm in front of her, slightly off to the left and behind a central support pillar in a seat created on the far back of the room. The room itself was circular, while the door leading to the running submarine was to the right. The door leading into the cabin had a high-ledge, thus making the room dryly lacking the foot-high water that seemed to have invaded the whole Junon underwater reactor.

She knew very well that he had been waiting for her and no one else... Otherwise he wouldn't be in the position he was now. From the angle of the door from the hallways, none of her thrown weapons would reach him angled by first entering the room. Something she definitely did not want to do without preparing her exit first.

"Ahahaha!" The man with Vincent's voice mockingly laughed at her. Seeing her hesitation. Divining her thought processes easily "What's the matter? Did you believe since I was raised a scientist by Hojo, that I would not be endowed with the tactical observation of my genetic benefactor?"

Yuffie scowled, her eyebrows furrowed in anger. She drew two of her Shurinkens and instead of throwing them at the clone, she lodged them solidly into the hinges of the door. Entered the cabin. Grabbing her Conformer from behind her back and preparing it on her right arm wilst still eyeing the clone. She heard the satisfying electrical short circuiting of an automatic door hydraulic system dying and looked at him defyingly. Emeric raised an eyebrow at her momentarily, his head fell back to laugh once again at her then snapped his attention back towards her again. Clapping his hands.

"Well, well... it seems you have figured at least this step of my plan. I'm definitely not disappointed! My research on you is very precise... Yuffie Kisaragi." The last was said in a teasingly breathless tone.

The clone stood up, as usual the man was only dressed in a labcoat with a.b.s.o.l.u.t.e.l.y nothing underneath! The shinobi blinked. Once. Then blushed. He looked so much like Vincent! 'He's Emeric! He's Emeric! Its not Vincent Yuffie! Don't get confused.' She repeated in a mantra.

"Oh... I can see it in you eyes little one" The clone smiled a fanged smile, devilishly unafraid of her and her weapons. He spread his left arm towards her, indicating her with the movement. Taking steps to the left of the room, circling towards her. Staring at her with intensity. "I can even smell it from here..."

The shinobi remember that he could take a bullet in the head and regenerated incredibly fast. She had come equipped with her Ninjato for this very reason. To cut the bastards' head clean off! So why was she... rooted on the spot and listening to him?

"You desire me." He stated, halfway across the room to her left.

Yuffie's eyes widened. "Fuck no!"

The ninja threw Conformer at him with all her strength. The short distance it traveled leaving very little time to dodge. Somehow... he managed just fine. Even teasingly sidestepping as if it were easy.

"Oh yes. You do... Yuffie." He said her name breathlessly again.

She started shacking. 'He's NOT Vincent!'

"You desire him... so you desire me. Its perfectly natural to want to... I mean... I am of the finest pedigree." The clone reached down into the front of himself and cupped his genitals pervertedly displaying himself in front of her.

Like a pervert on the streets... however he had Vincent face! She HATED HIM! Yelling the injustice she felt, Yuffie threw her last 2 Shurinken and grabbed her ninjato blade. Diving forward to the right, she expected the clone to dodge right in her path to avoid the throwing stars. However, she underestimated him! The madman took both of the wicked sharp metal pinpricks fully in the upper chest and dropped to the ground lunging under her. Surprised, she had just enough time when she landed to jump backwards before he pounced upwards to grab what would have certainly been her wrists... or her throat.

Instead, he managed to awkwardly grab her ankle without being able to keep a proper hold. It was enough to disrupt her jump and so she control-fell and rolled the wall, closer then she would have liked to him. Since she was next to her Conformer she quickly grabbed it with her right and fearing that he would cut her exit off, she quickly recovered her footing and made a backward somersault jump with weapons extended. Intending to harm him if ever he advance. He hadn't an was just staring at her oddly again.

"Oh Yes! Yes! Woman! You are everything I could have ever wished for!" His laugh was breathless as he groaned simultaneously. Obviously getting aroused and getting a kick out of her.

"You are bat shit insane! What are you playing at?!" The young woman screeched at him.

Hating him more than she had ever hated anything in her whole entire life... more than Sephiroth! More than even Hojo! She felt it wash over her like physical waves. The clone snickered, pulling the shurinken out of the wounds and dropping them on the floor. She felt sick in her stomach almost at how he was making her feel... but... looking away from him was difficult. He looked so much... like him and... he was aroused.

"I'm playing with you Kisaragi. Don't you like this foreplay?! I find it exciting... as you can see." Emeric continued to fondle himself with his particularly twisted masochistic exhibitinism.

He licked his fingers of his own blood on them while looking at her lewdly. The shinobi's teeth clenched so hard she was afraid they might break.

"Your disgusting!" She trembled. Her hands were unsteady now and her eyes were itching with tears.

This was so unfair! She couldn't do anything against him! Not because he looked like Vincent... but because it was clear that his abilities surpassed hers! The arsenal and weaponry she had now, the skills she possessed... were not adequate to fight the demented clone of Vincent Valentine. She understood this now. She wasn't weak, he simply wasn't human.

"Oh, I'm not so loathsome am I? I mean... I haven't hurt you in the least." He finished his phrase almost as a question and started to walk towards her again.

"You hurt Vincent!" She countered, taking a step closer to the exit behind her, dropping her Conformer which stayed propped and ready to be thrown, but favouring her Ninjato instead. Steadying her hands.

"Hmm... My simple existence hurts the man regardless of my actions! Just as Viturin hurts him now and just as Sephiroth did"

The long-haired version clone of Vincent motioned to himself with both hands. The wounds caused by the Shurinken was completely healed. Yuffie's eyes betrayed her confusion at the mention of the silver-haired swordsman. What possible connection was there to Vincent and Sephiroth in regards to the clone? For a brief moment, Emeric simply speaking to her civilly was difficult to seperate from Vincent speaking to her. The same voice, the same inflections. It was incredibly difficult.

Emeric continued. "I only wish... to procreate. To continue my purpose in being! Creating a new breed of anthropomorphic humans." The clone stopped walking towards Yuffie and slouched slightly in a manner that the shinobi had found was unique to the clone. "Think... Yuffie. How would you like to heal wounds instantly? To resist diseases and have strength and speed beyond what you have now?! I would GIVE this to humanity! I only need to perfect the breed!"

The ruby-eyes that looked so much like her friend pleaded with her. However... there was something dead in them. Appalling in its void. While Emeric was truly intelligent and seemed to have an internal self-justification to what he was doing, he was missguided not by passion, nor by determination. She knew... deep down that this was all 'programmed'. Code. Computerized. Brainwashed. Ingrained into him as one would a computer. She pitied himy. It almost seemed like he had a soul. Just like she knew Viturin did, somewhere deep inside.

"You are the answer to it, I can feel it." He startled her thoughts. The emotions of his eyes shifting from thoughtfulness to something more focused and intense while trained on her.

"Wh...What do you mean?!" She re-adjusted her stance with her blade. The wutain could not let her guard slip around this man.

"Oh it would be easy to infect you my dear... but your worth more to me as you are now. As a bitch to breed the next generation" Emeric started to advance on her again.

As he did, she could clearly see that he was erect under the parted labcoat. A brief flash of lust hit her momentarily, forgetting completely he was not the one she had dreamt of having from afar. She snapped back to reality. He was psychopathic! Did he really... Was he really going to...?

"S...stay away!" Yuffie could not believe this was happening. Resolved, she held her ground with her Ninjato, but regardless of the blade pointed towards him, the clone advanced determinedly.

He was close enough to be in range of her that she lunged to do what she first intended; To cleave his damn head off! The clone of Vincent Valentine physically deflected the blade with his own hand... The strike would have never severed his neck or even his fingers. She did not have the distance to strike with enough force.

She knew this... and he knew this as well.

Hissing in obvious pain, Emeric closed the distance between them and wrenched the blade with his other hand away from her. Her hands shook in mid-strike, disbelieving, her body trembled in shock. She could do nothing... nothing at all. Even with the exit behind her, he would catch her. She heard him kick Conformer away. He almost gently gathered her wrists into his left but the kept them over their heads as he locked eyes with her. Intense crimson eyes piercing her.

"My dear... I can smell how wet you've become with excitement." He pushed his erection into her stomach. Securing his hold on her wrists, she didn't dare struggling or do anything to encourage him.

The blood of his right arm flowed down her arm. Remembering that his blood held the Deepdog infection, her heart seizes in her chest. She stares at it with horror and Emeric turns his head to look at the source of her focus.

"Oh this? Haha, don't worry. It won't infect you as long as its not in an open wound... and this won't either..." He holds the bottom of her chin, turning his face to his. "Unless you struggle and my fangs pierces you... My saliva might get into your bloodstream then." He grins.

He dove at her face and caught her mouth in a kiss. Pushing his tongue into hers, Yuffie forgot to breathe. 'This isn't Vincent, this isn't Vincent, this isn't Vincent.' She repeated the mantra. Emeric licked the roof of her mouth and seemed to be counting or memorizing her teeth. Her fear paralysed hers. Although loveless and one-sided, Emeric kissed her as though trying to insight a response from her. After a half a minute or so, he parted from her and they both gulped for air.

"... I've... never kissed before..." The clone seemed to have a sad note in his voice, but was talking to no one in particular. "It seems to engender emotional responses in certain individuals... hmm... well its pleasurable enough. But onto the real deed!" He bucked upwards into her, his penis pressing firmly into the cleft of her hip.

She had , of all things, forgotten about THAT! He placed a leg behind her knee and force-tripped her. Control-falingl to the ground and landing on top of her solidly. Hitting the metal cabin floor, knocking the breath out of her. She saw him flick his right hand itself of blood before reaching down to undo her belt.

"NOOOO! Please!"

She screamed, finally realizing and snapping out of her stupor. She was going to be raped by a man who looked exactly like the one she had a huge crush on! The twist in her gut at the situation was unbearably painful. He simply laughed at her as she sobbed. Struggling feebly against his overwhelming strength, only stimulating him furthur with her wiggling. He pulled her pants down midway to her knees and with a violent and painful tug, ripped her panties off. Emeric mounted and positioning himself over her, the tip of his phallus pressing firmly at her vagina's' entrance, which to her horror, was slightly wet from her previous momentary over-active imagination lapses. Superimposing him with Vincent. She felt his muscles tense in readying anticipation of penetration, even as she continued to struggle against the bruising grip he held on her wrists.

-BAM!-

She closed her eyes as blood splattered across her face, she felt his heavy bulk lift away from her chest as he scrambled back up over her.

-BAM!-

Gunshots!

She was shacking so bad, she hardly managed to turn onto her side. Her vision was smeared with the clone's blood and wiping at is, she struggled into a seated position, pulling her shorts back up.

-BAM!-

She flickered her gaze back at Emeric, the insane clone suppressed by the gunshots, was struggling to reach the door leading to the submarine. His shoulder covered in smattered blood and his lower left calf. Cursing, whilst obviously in pain, his healing abilities busily being taxed healing each successive bullet wound. Yuffie then looked back at the door towards the one firing. Kazi had a look of complete and utter concentration.

-BAM!-

She heard the shot go through Emeric and into the far wall. The clone said nothing, hissing and grunting at each shot. But she could see his eyes seething in a fury that could have scalded her if she'd been at the end of it. As he managed to open then close the door to the underwater vehicle, she caught a glimpse of it, directed at Kazi Harding.

Even when the door was closed... the young Leavitt shot at it.

-BAM!- PZOING!- The bullet bounced twice before silence reigned in the cabin.

Shackilly, the wutain woman stood up, heart still pounding fast in he chest. She clumzilly reached for her Conformer and made for the other man.

He was staring straight ahead with an unreadable expression on his face, however his gunarm lowered, the glock smocking at the tip. She noticed he was drenched from head to toe in water and that the cabin was now filling up with it from the hallway. The water level had risen.

The redhead turned towards her and held his hand out.

"We need to go!" He said it with barely withed panic behind the statement.

While Yuffie Kisaragi's near-rape was hindering her mobility. Though the fact that the water was indeed rising... was a fairly good indication of what was happening and that indeed they should get out.

NOW!

o0o

* * *

*** **Diver Nest, a manta-ray looking monster that was in the Underwater Junon reactor in the game.

****** Big wave, is an ability Diver Nests have. I imagine its like in a bathtub if you move from one end to the other quickly and so I had the creature basically do that.

* * *

**Author's notes; **

Yay! Ok this one is longer and some 'M' action was felt. Things will definitely start getting interestingly action-packed from here on in. Poor Yuffie... so confused! I really wanted to make Kazi a solid OC character. The last chapter, this one and the next is to solidify his presence in my fic. Bayan is next (fyi).


	16. Uncharacteristically fine

**Learning to meet halfway**

**Chapter 16 : Weaving tunnels.**

Author's notes : I'm happy my fans liked Chapter 15 so much, so I'm putting more time and paying attention to the syntax and typos this time before publishing this one.

* * *

o0o

As Cloud expertly wove the Fenrir throughout the mountain roads nearing Junon, the gunman seated behind him was struggling with the beginning of a migraine. It had nothing to do with the pressure changes of altitude climbs one normally feels going up and downs. No. This was something entirely different in Vincent's vast experience and repertoire of headaches. And he had had his share of them.

The thoughts he managed to drudge up from the deep murk of his mind were fleeting and simplet. Analysed by his complex human side and then filtered through Galians'. Since awakening in the hospital, the gunman had the impressions of both Galian and him processing everything at the same time. Watching over his shoulder whispering what it wanted, then simultaneously Vincent deciding if yes or no how he would act. Disconcerted and weary of the feeling, its what made the Ex-Turk particularly close mouthed and distant from the others since waking at the hospital. Now… the creature was melding into the background of his consciousness, the censoring was more and more instantaneous while the migraine mounted. Its thoughts fleeing and overflowing. He was afraid he couldn't tell the difference between his own thoughts and its.

He kept on fighting it and thus… the headache.

The ruby-eyed man wondered very briefly if the others knew of the internal struggle he was going through. Not only with the situation they were having with Emeric, one of his past sins drudged up from the bottom of the ocean that was Vincent Valentine. But also of the emotional roller coaster he had been through the last 3 months. Dealing with Deepground, Lucretia fighting Weiss/Hojo and being reborn.

All of these thing, were slowly driving him to a breaking point and he wasn't sure at what point he could keep Galian Beast from taking his psyche in either totality or in some manner.

The city of Junon peeked over the edge of the next bend and the scenery surprised both of the warriors. Smoke. A large fire burnt near the edge of the docks. The dark clouds surreally odd next to the clear blue of the sky. Evidently something bad had happened, the only conclusion to be drawn was that it involved the dock's WRO lookout. Kazi Harding and Yuffie Kisaragi.

Both Cloud and Vincent leaned forward against the wind as Fenrir tore the road as fast as the turns allowed them to do. At this particular instant, Vincent was hanging both wearily and attentively onto the vehicle. Cloud was one to take 'shortcuts' to get to the center of action. Sure enough, one of the large mako pipes that fed to through to Healin looked like a suspect.

"Hang on Vincent."

Despite the headache, Vincent understood and felt the Ex-Soldier's Mako enhanced muscles tense to throw the bike's formidable mass into an upward bounce. He assisted the swordsman. His own muscle strength was over the normal for typical body-mass. While not nearly as strong as he was before, the two managed to swerve on the edge of the mountain side and land onto the piping.

It was rough riding on the steep and narrow pipe but the both of them had near perfect balance and rode it down towards the docks. From the side bag, Vincent could distinctively hear Cait Sith's panicked yodeling.

"Oh my dearest me! You lads are piping crazy! Considering we're on a pipe as well I think we're set!"

The metallic robot cat peeked its head out of the leather motorcycle and while it didn't have a coat of fluffy fur, it had donned its red flashy red and the ties of it fluttered in the wind.

"The WRO are on tha' premise lads. Apparently that fellow Kazi went inside the docks to get rid of a scrambler cutting communication to Yuffie."

Cait Sith's connection to Reeve was coming in handy. Whatever the commissioner knew, the robot knew. Passing information between them and the WRO soldiers. Cloud would know the benefits of having the robotic cat around. He'd had the previous cat-model (with fur) working with him when Vincent had been left to recuperating in Rocket Town nearly a month ago. Since most of the Deepdogs would leave the toy cat alone whenever Cait played dead, he'd been able to warn of the monsters movements so the blonde swordsman could cut them off effectively before they reached Edge.

Hearing that the wutain ninja was in trouble again caused a strange reaction in Vincent's chest and mind. A mixture of anger and fear that mixed horriby. The gunman had never felt anything quite like it… Aggravating his headache as he thought more and more about it. He knew each of these feelings separately but not in the combination nor in the manner as he did now. The source of these emotions wasn't clear. Which was Galians' and which was his? The migraine, the situation and having barely recuperated from his last ordeal… he lost the concentration he needed to keep his balance, feeling faint. The bike wobbled slightly on the narrow pipes enough so that Cloud took notice. Not taking any chances the mako enhanced man landed them back onto a road when the first opportunity appeared. Jarring the passengers and ruining the shortcut.

"Vincent, is something wrong? You seem out of sorts. We'll need you clearheaded or just stay out of this."

The former leader of AVALANCHE held his tone in check, but his concentration was firmly on avoiding accidents on the road with civilian cars, speeding towards the rapidly approaching column of smoke of the docks. The smell finally reached them, salt, mako and chemicals burning in a horrid cocktail that would make any person cringe. However Vincent, surprisingly, chocked slightly on it.

"Laddie… yee just been through somewhat of' big wallop of an accident. None o'us would think any less of yee if ya stayed back on this one."

The little cat's voice piped in its ever cheerful manner, conveying the thoughts of Cloud and Reeve clearly and respectfully. Their concern for the gunman's mental state and physical recuperation was foremost on their minds. However Vincent Valentine had always been hardheaded before as a Turk and had never changed, even under Hojo's knife. He hated being perceived as weak.

"My sense of smell… has changed, its not bothering me as much as you think. It is hardly that… just surprising." The gunman protested firmly. Letting it at that.

Feeling cornered by the two, Vincent's anger seemed to overshadow his concern for now. He understood that they had his best intentions in mind, but the shouldn't concern themselves with him. Yuffie and Kazi were the ones in need of help. Without proper targets for his fury, his headache blared and worsened. He clenched his teeth.

Cloud reached the WRO security line finally and the personnel were diligently meeting the strange motorcyclist in their usual precaution of strangers. Upon identifying the custom-bike as 'Fenrir' the military members and personel of the WRO stood at attention as the aqua-eyed swordsman cut the motor and propped the bike up. Even before swinging a leg off, the robotic cat jumped out of the side bag, waddling rapidly to meet the WRO soldiers.

"So has anyone called back yet?"

The soldiers raised eyebrows at the imperialistic Irish accented toy-cat. Everyone in the WRO seemed to have been briefed about Reeve's alter-ego, Cait Sith. So it was only the first encounters with the automatron that unsettled people.

"Um… no sir. He ordered us to hold back and cover S and K dock, pending further orders."

The second soldier looked slightly behind the cat to the two other warriors. Cloud had popped Fenrir's truncated sides and was selecting his weapons. Smaller for closed environment fighting. His first Tsurugi would be worthless in small corridors.

The gunman didn't need any checking and strode to the two soldiers.

"What happened? " The low tone was laced with a particular irritation at the strangeness he felt creeping along the edges of his nerves.

"Not sure sir, went inside to destroy a scrambler and soon after, that explosion occured. We're not sure what set it off, however it seemes located in dock S moreso than dock K."

Cloud threw the shortswords onto his back hip holsters, leaving his large shoulder holsters empty and clapped Vincent's shoulder.

"We'll get through in dock K then, see if we can reach them by that."

"Um… miss Kisaragi put a trap sir."

Vincent lifted an eyebrow minutely. "I'll take care of it."

The two former AVALANCHE members quickly made their way to the dock entrance of the Junon underwater reactor.

* * *

o0o

Kazi's hand was firm and solid in hers as they trudged water. The current threatening to trip them at any moment. The low light conditions were even worse now. The electrical currents and wires which powered them disrupted, flickering them on and off. Damage to the structure caused the underwater reactor to rumble and creak in every which direction. Both of the WRO operatives' hearts were pounding in their chests as they pushed through knee high water to get out of the facility before anything worse happened.

The disoriented Kazi, only remembered the passages of the other dock entrance. The twists and turns differed and he was quickly getting lost. That particular areawas no longer an option. Completely collapsed by the explosion which Emeric had rigged to the scrambler. The redhead was furious with himself. He should have checked the device first. It had been stupid and irresponsible of him to simply have shot it, choosing expediency over caution had cost them.

Yuffie on the other hand was overcoming shock. She had almost been raped by Emeric. If it hadn't been for the Leavitt's presence, the Clone might have succeeded whatever it had first set out to do. That had been through her own sheer overestimation of her capacities. What had she thought she could do to one of Hojo's experiments? Stupid! She should have waited for backup. Should of.. should of.

"This way!" She pulled at Kazi's hand. Snapping out of her self-induced torpor, realizing he was turning the wrong way.

Much more acquainted with the layout than he was, they made a few dozen meters in the corridor before a large crack appeared accompanied by a rumble. A spray of seawater suddenly gushed and a large pipe popped free. Bursting from the ceiling as well as a chunk of other pipes and wires accompanied the rush of water.

"Watch out!" Kazi yelled.

The pipe plummeted towards them and Yuffie's reflexes served her well, however Kazi was not a wutain trained ninja and didn't quite manage it. Submerged by both a wave of water and the debris, the Leavitt's arms did circles in and out of the water. She lost sight of him for a brief flash of the incredibly dim and flickering lights.

"Kazi!"

His arms popped out of the water near a particularly large pipe and column and he pulled himself out in a seated position, soaked. The water arriving at his midwaist and still slowly rising.

"Fuck!"

She splashed hurriedly to his side. Wondering why he hadn't immediately risen. She saw him struggling against something and realized quickly…

"My legs are pinned under the beam!"

Yuffie's caramel mako gleaming eyes widened. 'NO!' her mind denied the problem and she bend down to feel under the dark water for his leg. Effectively it was trapped under a pipe being pushed down by another beam that seemed propped at an angle to the ceiling. Way too much weight for her to possibly do anything about it.

"Wait… the scrambler, I got rid of it, we have radio com now."

Understanding , Yuffie put her hand on the earpiece still in around her ear.

"Yuffie Kisaragi to anyone in the WRO, come in! »

- WRO K dock assigned squad, 10-2, reading you. -

"We have a problem, lieutenant Harding is pinned under debris and water is rising fast in the K dock area." A moment passed.

-Mr. Valentine and Strife are on their way towards you. -

The shinobi's eyes brightened and she wanted to jump in joy. "Copied."

She turned back to Kazi and that brief moment of happiness was smashed as she noticed the water had climbed to his upper chest. While the young redhead did not look particularly panicking, a look of concern was still plastered to his face as he stared at the water and then back up at Yuffie.

"Don't worry, they'll get you out for sure." She bent down and pat his shoulder. "I'll be here… don't worry." She felt awkward tapping his shoulder as the man cringed.

Kazi understood it seemed and let out a tensed chuckle, still wiggling and trying to remove his right leg from underneath the pipe. The weight was painful and bruising and he bit the bottom of his lip. The rushing water and sounds drowned out the arrival of her two colleagues jogging towards them. The two warriors assessed the situation quickly seeing Kazi laying near the debris.

Cloud rushed to the pipe to look at it more closely and Vincent bent to feel how they were connected.

"You don't know how glad I am to see you sir." Kazi struggled to say as the water was up to his neck at this point.

Vincent was trying to concentrate despite the water and only briefly glanced at his student before turning to check on Yuffie. The ninja's attention was wholly on the young Leavitt. Fear in her eyes. His first assessment of her was that she was uninjured. However, it shouldn't have been fear in her eyes. Positive determination was Yuffie's bread and butter. Something had happened and it was unsettling him. Bothering him even to the point of distraction. The gunman could feel the leg properly pinned under and was not sliding in any direction.

"Cloud." He caught the other's attention. " You think you can cut that support pipe so we can lift this?"

The blonde's rapidly soaking hair shook water as he indicated a no.

"Its propping up this crack and section of the wall, if I were to cut the beam, the passage might collapse." The swordsman looked sternly concerned but delved down to feel the same pipe Vincent had.

The mako enhanced soldier then tensed and pulled on the piece. The thing groaned along with the other pipe moved minutely but other than shacking slightly. No result.

"I… I could feel the weight lift." The young redhead's face was lifted up over the water and it was with great effort that he divulged this bit of information.

The aqua eyes glowed and caught the ruby ones of his friend. "Vincent help me with this. Maybe…"

The swordsman held his breath, the water was under his ability to reach under without plunging his head into the murky surface. The Ex-Turk did the same, his metal claw grasped the pipe securely and his human one assisted. Both of the former experiments used their superior strengths to try and lift the fallen debris off of Kazi's leg. They felt it lift minutely again, but not enough to lift the crushing pressure of the Leavitts leg so his ankle could clear. Vincent could feel the younger man stuggling at this point. Perhaps panicking.

The raven haired man, letting go of the debris rose back to the surface for air. Vincent froze in surprise at what greeted him then. Yuffie's face was half-submerged into the water herself, kneeling over. With his enhanced eyesight he could clearly see the interlocked mouths enmeshed in a life-giving kiss. What felt like a sharp knife twisted in Vincent's chest and he was a short breath away from ripping them apart. However Cloud also gasped for breath at the moment and snapped him out of it. Appalled at the impulsiveness of his feelings, Vincent did a few breathing exercise. His heart was beating in his head. The migraine was past any kind of pain he'd ever experienced. Where was this bringing to.

-Galian/Vincent 'What are you doing to me?'

"I don't think we can do it this way." The blonde's teeth clenched as he grabbed a sword from one of his holsters and looked back at where Kazi's leg technically would be under the water. His intention was clear. To save the other man's life without risking all of theirs they had to cut the limb.

"Please!" Yuffie begged them, catching their attention. "You have to try at least one more time." The young ninja's eyes filled with tears, almost indiscernible from all of the rest of the water flowing from her hair and down her face.

Vincent's thoughts flatline at her tears. The plead of her voice. She held his gaze imploring. He clenched his own teeth his face felt on fire but not in a fury directed at anyone. No it was something towards himself.

-how could be abandon her! How could we let her down this time?-

"AGAIN!" The voice that came out of the reserved Ex-Turk was surreal and not his own, but a strangers'.

He felt his muscles burn and he took a deep breath, plunging back under the water and pulling with all his might, the whole of his arms burnt, his head his legs. Averywhere he stretched burnt as if he's spread a muscle balm on. He grabbed the piece of concrete mixed with pipe angry and frustrated and pulled. Finally feeling it give and lift in the water. Minutely aware of a bumping and a slight disturbance of the mass he lifted he counted to 3 before (as best he could) dropping it back down. Shooting out of the water to reclaim the air, Vincent noticed a change in his perception. Things seemed brighter and the smell of salt stronger than before. His headache had also melted somewhere in the foreground.

The blonde swordsman and wutain were helping Kazi get up. The man was going to be limping and they didn't have time. Since Cloud and Yuffie both had gear that required to be strapped on their back Vincent offered.

" I'll carry him out." Pointing at his own uncluttered back. Noticing the reactions of the others.

They looked to have seen a ghost. Briefly looking back at the tunnel, wondering if they'd sighted a monstrous denizen Vincent was confused until he reached out with a clawed right hand... wait clawed?

"If you say so Vincent, we don't have much time Yuffie." Cloud ventured, pulling the young WRO special ops with her assistance in the now waist high water.

The gunman, on his side was busy inspecting himself. He was in the Galian's body, with his mind intact. Only the odd warm echoes of the migraine remained along with something on the edge of his senses. The galian was there with him, but not as a seperate being. It felt odd but he had no time for further introspection as his student was passed on to him.

"S...Air?" The redhead was cautiously fearful of him. He'd head heard about this... That his mentor turned into creatures.

Vincent nodded, un-offended for once by the first-time reaction at the sight of him as the Galian. Lowering himself and assisting in the other climbing on piggy-back style. The young man weighed a negligible amount while in his Galian form and not sparing another moment, the Ex-Turk started to trudge through the water violently as it continued to fill the passages. He heard the shuffling of his team mates behind him and before long, saw the exit. Letting out a sigh of relieve, Vincent climbed the stairs up first, only to be greeted by the pointed ends of gun barrels.

"DONT SHOOT! That's lieutenant Kazi he has there!" One of the WRO soldiers identified the passenger he carried.

Annoyance flickered minutely in Vincent, the brief thought of violence dawned in his mind before being squashed by his humanity. He shook his head clear of both water and the worrying notion and bent to assist the limping Kazi off his back. Yuffie and Cloud walked up from behind him. The commotion had drawn a crowd, Vincent could hear them from around the warehouse bend and line the WRO had created. Vincent felt a nagging feeling that brought his attention back to the WRO soldiers.

They still had their guns pointed at him.

"Stand down, I'm not Emeric and you've seen me operate in this form before." Vincent's harsh, yet recognizable voice.

Cloud had to finally step in, his butterfly sword drawn as a warning he wouldn't stand for violence. Yuffie scolded the grown men while Kazi debriefed the senior officers amongst them. Eventually the gun barrels threatening him were lowered and Vincent could properly think about how he was going to avoid the crowd and Papparazi.

"Vincent you feeling all right?" The blonde swordsman had folded his arms, an eyebrow lifted in both concern as well as observation of his comrade in arms.

While the gunman knew that Cloud was simply trying to assess his situation. Looking him up and down made him feel self-conscious. He was fully aware that he was now reversed bipedal, covered in fur, a foot taller with moveable ears, tail and sharp fangs. It was as awkward for him as those around him. The difference being; the Galian's bestial form was not a visual novelty for his comrades who'd fought alongside the creature years ago. It was entirely new to him. Especially to be in his sound mind controlling the body of the creature.

"I... think so... All things considered, it simply feels odd to be in my sound mind." He flickered an ear around, catching again the sound of the crowd around the bend.

"I don't suppose any of you can do something about the paparazzi?"

Yuffie, who'd seen to Kazi briefly, jumped to Cloud's side.

"Oh. Do we need a distraction? I'm really good at those!" She grinned from ear to ear in the mischievous manner that was typical of hers.

Cloud ruffled her hair, which had been conveniently in easy reach of his gloved hand.

"You do that lady squirt."

Vincent was in a good position to see the interplay of emotions on Yuffie's face. She was annoyed at the blonde's action of treating her like a child as well as the nickname but otherwise did not complain other than glare at him. Her momentary disgruntled look changed to one of affectionate concern as she looked back towards him.

Taken aback a moment, the look of affection was entirely new for Vincent. Had he mistaken it? Why would she ever have the expression for him while he was in such an ugly monstrous form? The Ex-Turk grew increasingly confused, his face heated and the nagging feeling at the edge of his senses was getting more and more insistent. Commanding him to shake the water from his fur and puff up for the female as a display of male health and virility. He did so subconsciously before catching himself after the fact. Yuffie, on the other hand, saw none of this. Simply Vincent in the body of the Galian shacking water and taking a more human straight posture. She giggled at the dog-like shacking of water before bouncing past them to address the journalist and press that was undoubtedly demanding answers about the Junon reactor explosion.

Vincent stared at her and if he'd been capable of blushing as the Galian. He would have, licking his lips before feeling Cloud's hand on his shoulder.

"You sure you're okay Vincent?"

The orange eyes of the Galian held Vincent's human thoughts behind them, considering the situation. He could feel something like a switch in his mind, knowing without a double that if he reached for it, he could turn back. Wondering how it would feel. On all his previous transformations, the sensation was excruciatingly painful. Passing the line of journalist however, would be near impossible in this form. The gunman mentally reached inside and flicked it, Feeling the same lotion-like burn in his muscles which lasted only a few seconds. Quickly enough that the swordsman's hand hadn't been removed when he took back his human guise.

"Fantastic." Was his very uncharacteristic response.

The blonde swordsman flashed him one of his own rare and elusive grinning smiles.

o0o

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Author's notes:

YAY! Another update. I love this story, I'm getting really attached to it.

Anyone else feel the same way?


	17. LEAVITT FILE: Kazi Harding

**Learning to meet halfway**

**Chapter 17: LEAVITT FILE/Kazi Harding**

* * *

**Monthly plans (January)**

Current muse haunting me: (The gamer one)

Hey I decided to see if people follow me on and sort of update my profile once a month as well as each (End of current chapter) of each of my month I have a convention to plan cosplay for, so I have been busily sewing a costume for it. On and off I have been working on 2 chapters. Whichever catches my fancy and for how long it keeps me intertained before moving onto other projects (which I have many). So here goes: Generally... I am in a Final fantasy 7 /Vincent Valentine (centric) phase. However, I like to think that I involve alot of the other characters in a much more supportive manner than focusing singularilly on him. You may have also noticed that I have alot of M-rated fics here. Maybe I should try and write some more tame rated ones...

**(FF7) Leap of faith**: Although this is done. I am currently obsessed with the Strifentine pairing. I don't want to remove it from 'complete'-status but wondered if anyone was interested in a sequel on this with an epic saga of somekind involving the two?

**(FF7)Learning to meet Halfway: **Finally the **(M)** rating has caught onto it, however I think that some of the gruesome wounds and some other things warranted the rating itself. It is definitely on my big top to-complete list. However this particular upcoming chapter is not tickling my muse... I'm blocked at how Yuffie would react at her 'almost-rape' and also the news her father is organising traditional/technical 'blind-dates'. Include Vincent in the mix and its become kinda wierd. So I've shifted to my OC a bit. Maybe I can kick something back into gear.

**(FF7) Touched by a flower:** Has recently re-caught my attention for some odd reason. Maybe its because I've been replaying some of the original game. However I'm about like... 3 chapters to the intended end of this story and I am wondering if I should just push out the creativity on it and to get it to COMPLETE status. What do you think?

**(Tyrant falls in love) Cooking love in a petridish:** This is on hold until my interest gravitate back to it. Who knows? After the conventions I'm going to at the end of the month maybe I'll be more inclined to finnish it. I was only intending it to have just a few more chapters. Enough for Suuichi to finally (in public) admit he loves Morinaga and for him to top ONCE!

**(Soul eater) The hundred year step:** I only have maybe 1 or 2 chapters left for it... but I am completely out of SoulEater in my mind currently. Same thing with Tyrant falls in love. I am awaiting a bite from the anime muse currently she is being bullied by my game-muse.

**(SG:U) Circles around the question:** I have absolutely no idea if I'm going to be continuing this or not. I'll give it a few months before I remove it if I can't find the inspiration to pursue it.

* * *

Fanart:

I am actually an accomplished artist and have been recreating scenes of my fic for my own enjoyment. Was anyone interested in seeing more of it in links and other things in my profile?

* * *

o0o

**Kazi Harding**

**Birthdate:** July 5 (Cancer), 20 year old (DoC)

**Height:** 167cm 5'6"

**Bloodtype:** AB

**Birthplace:** Modeoheim

**Facial/body Traits:** Body: Fit, broad shouldered / Hair: Red (short cropped) / Eyes: Sky Blue / Complexion: Fair, very faint freckles.

**Former occupation:** Communication technician / **Current occupation:** WRO Leavitt

**Main weapon:** Standard issued WRO handgun M19 pistol (Colt)

* * *

Kazi is a 20 year old WRO CT (Communication Technician) who has worked for the organization ever since his parents passed away 3 years ago during the Meteor Crisis and its fallout concequences. His father had been in the ShinRa building when it was destroyed by Diamond WEAPON and his mother died of Geostigma a year or so after. Having matured faster than most, Kazi is very fastidious and attentive to detail. Polite and dutiful, he feels he owes alot to the WRO for employing him and giving him a platform to rebuild his shattered life. He considers the organization his 2nd family in a way.

While his family originally lived in Modeoheim, the village was so remote that the inhabitance relied heavily on radio equipment to stay in touch with the rest of the world. He thus (under the tutelage of his father) became specialized in creating and disassembling communication devices, radios, scramblers and anything to do with transmission waves with very little or sparse tools. When Modeoheim slowly began to wane, business sputtering and dying when ShinRa abandoned the reactor, his father moved to Rocket Town. Working on the ShinRa space program before it was unfunded and then cut, thus forcing his family again to hit the road. He has no love for the company which stole his home multiple times yet was never ambitious enough to take part in any rebellion against it.

While punctual and professional, Kazi comes across by other as a bit 'stiff' and 'stuck up'. Even accused of being a sort of a brown noser. Harding isn't a loner, but his single-mindedness in his work and dedication to the WRO cause makes him slightly unapproachable. Especially with his lack of (or dry) technical humour and sarcasm. Those that understand these trait as being part of his normal personality, learn to just accept it as-is without ulterior motives and being offended by it.

As a hobi, Kazi likes to figure out how to make simple gimmicks with the crudest materials. 'Works of art' more-like. His WRO collegues consider them excentric at best. Often enough, they don't end up looking like anything and/or having the most specific and oddest applications. When he creates contraptions is perhaps the only moment he lowers his guard and somewhat dry personality.

He was selected by Vincent Valentine to be trained as a part of the WRO's new military special unit 'The Leavitt' because of his attention to detail, aptitude in electronics and calm attitude in the face of crisis. His military files reflect that while under combat situation, Lt. Kazi does not let personal issues affect his performance. Kazi has a healthy admiration for Valentine who rescued him and his Tech team during DeepGround's siege of the WRO headquarters a few months ago. He has worked with Shelke on improving internal communications since then and partners with Yuffie on certain missions of observation where his skills would be of most value.

* * *

o0o

Thank you for reading if you did, hopefully this gives you more insight into his personality and mind.


	18. A strange lump

**Learning to meet halfway**

**Chapter 18 : A strange lump**

* * *

**Author's notes : FEB 2013**

_I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in such a long while. As you know, I have alot of other fics and I work 2 jobs (one of them is another exercise in creativity that can get in the way of fic-writting)._

_So the next couple of chapters are going to be Bayan-centric. I want to develop this OC a bit. Last but not least will be the twins. I was wondering if any of you even like the OCs I have created, of if you'd like me to tone down on them somewhat? Don't forget to review and speak out your opinions. They do matter in the long run._

* * *

o0o

Vincent sighed, feeling the last bunch of muscles relax under the warm spray of the showerhead. While his transformation had been relatively painless compared to what he was used to, the muscles had trouble sliding back into position on his back near his shoulder plates and haunches in his lower back.

In short, he ached everywhere as if he'd run a marathon.

On a better note, he had fortunately avoided the paparazzi. Courtesy of miss Kisaragi or perhaps due to the fact that they simply didn't recognize him without his cloak. Poor Cloud… The boy had been swamped by dozens of questions left and right. Mostly pertaining to his recent engagement to the wildly popular miss Tifa Lockhart. He chuckled briefly, Yuffie had dealt with them expertly. Luxuriating only as an attention seeker could.

-o0o Flashback o0o-

_'Miss Kisaragi! This recent commotion and the appearance of Cloud Strife suggest that the situation in Midgar might have moved here in Junon. What is AVALANCHE's and the WRO's involvement in this?'_

_Cait Sith was waving like a maniac, looking as if at any moment it might loose its head in a conniption fit._

_"AVALANCHE is no longer in operation. We work legitimately for the WRO now." The Wutain noble charmingly smiled, despite her whole uniform being drenched she still managed to look half-descent for the press._

_"To answer your questions, there were matters in the reactor which we need to look into. Unfortunately, the run down conditions were worse than we estimated. Thus an accident occurred. We apologize for the commotion, no one was seriously hurt."_

_Cait Sith seemed to plop down on the ground in relief. She expertly twisted the truth and wove the journalists around in loops until… it became personal._

_"Kisaragi, we've heard that starting on your 20th birthday for you upcoming 21st, Lord Godo will be hosting 'Omiai' for the selection of your future husband. What do you have to say about this."_

-o0o End Flashback o0o-

She'd gone mute and white as a ghost, which had disturbed Vincent greatly. The gunman frowned in the spray of water, turning off the shower he towelled himself diligently lost in thought...

He had completely forgotten that Yuffie Kisaragi was feudal nobility. While local governments were just now gaining control of their countries from ShinRa's grasp democratically. There were still 2 remaining traditional monarchic lines on Gaea. The Wutai reigning clan 'Kisaragi' and the less known 'Amberhalsts' of Nibel. Vincent knew very little of the Wutai 'Omiai' tradition. Other than that they were formal marriages arranged between suitors selected by someone's father. Both men and women were drawn into Omiai. The single white rose of Wutai was an only child, it was perfectly normal and expected of her father to follow tradition and open 'Introduction' sessions to select a suitable husband for her. The Ex-Turk was Nibel, he had only cursory understanding of Wutain culture. It seemed ridiculous that she would go along with it… however she hadn't rebuked any of the media's suggestions.

He wondered why it bothered him so much that she hadn't made a fuss... The ruby eyes scanned the hotel bathroom. 'Damn I forgot to bring my spare set of clothes with me'.

His stuffed backpack with a change of clothes was back in the room next to the spare bed. He was in the same hotel that Yuffie and Kazi had been using to keep surveillance on the docks. Since the WRO had paid for the rest of the week no one had said anything about him using these facilities. Wrapping a towel around himself, Vincent didn't think twice before going to fetch a change of clothes.

That was... Until he saw Yuffie blanched. Frozenly startled, no less than 3 feet away from the door to the bathrooms. Eyes wide, she seemed much more in shock than embarrassed at his level of undress.

"Sorry." He mumbled, trying to quickly fetch his spare garments and storming back into the bathroom.

Embarassed as he was, he quickly removed himself to spare her his body's scars which he knew were fairly unattractive Not that it was a closely guarded secret, Hojo being involved and all. While he wasn't as self-loathing about them as he would have been in the past. He knew the sight of them would most likely make others uncomfortable. regardless of whether they were women or men, friend or acquaintances.

"It..." The young ninja started, tone low and unsteady. "...was my fault."

She apologized on the other side of the door. There was an odd uneasy quality in her voice which disturbed him. On a level besides the fact that she had seen him practically naked. Almost as if she was talking about two seperate things besides stumbling upon him awkwardly vulnerable. With his pants and shirt hastefully donned on, buttoning up his collar in a siwft matter. He double checked to make sure he was presentable before he left the bathroom. Tugging his left shirt sleeve into his metal gauntlet. Briefly he glanced her way. She was had perched herself on the bed closest and facing the window, trembling slightly. Apparently deep in thought. She turned and while she had the normal reaction of blushing, Vincent was not entirely sure what all the rest was about.

"Are you alright?" The gunman asked. Normally he wouldn't have even bothered to.

People took care of their problems. Besides he rarely knew how to help. Comforting a young woman was definitely one of the things that was high on top of his list of in-experiences. However, this was Yuffie. Strong and carefree, energetic Kisaragi. He had rarely seen her this dejected. Even when she'd been hospitalized after her order she was fairly radiant.

No... this was something else and it had to do with what had happened in the underwater reactor.

"No." She answered truthfully.

Her soft glowing brown eyes were sad and held a silent plea of help within them. What was he to do? The Ex-Turk held the sad gaze a moment. Troubled and confused as to the feeling they were conjuring in within his chest he broke and looked away. Bringing his right hand up into his drying hair, seeking the bandana ends to tug coming up with empty hands. He opted to simply scratch the back of his head instead.

"Is there... anything I can do?"

The ninja shook her head, eyes closing then looking back out the window.

"You can find an kill Emeric."

Her tone was venomous. Vincent's demeanour changed as he heard the name of his clone. His tone of voice harsh.

"Did that bastard do something to you?"

"...I don't want to talk about it." The ninja pulled her knees up towards herself in a protective fetal position.

Something bad had happened. The gunman walked up to her, frowning down. Frustrated. Silently willing her to say something more so he could do something. Anything! However the younger woman had a far-away look about her, which melted any and all anger away caused by her stubborn silence. Replacing it with a lump of concern he had never before felt before. It constricted his throat somewhat. There was nothing he could do for her if she didn't want his help. Shacking his head, Vincent turned around and left the hotel room, looking for Kazi to get a debrief. Perhaps the Leavitt knew something...

o0o

_(Meanwhile / Earlier in the day)_

"So... you want me, for better words. To babysit?" The mature woman's voice was even with no inflection indicating that she was either for or against the notion.

"Yes." The WRO commander nodded, tapping files to even them out. "Shelke and Elder Nanaki will be going back with you to Cosmo Canyon. They will be doing a few tests on Viturin there but we need you to do your own surveying of the area for signs of Emeric."

Reeve placed the files down on the desk he was sitting at. His hands wove into each other and he placed them underneath his chin regarding Bayan Haranu. She was perhaps the best suited to take care of the young Vincent clone as she had already had a son of about the same age 3 years ago. Although he knew it was technically cruel on his part. He hoped the woman would understand that it was her qualifications, her position in the WRO as well as the situation that required it. Nothing personal.

"Understood." The same level-headedness the woman was known for traveled in her voice's tonality.

"Highwind will be ready to leave this afternoon." The older man had trouble reading this one.

She nodded, with a warm smile, yet eyes set coldly in either determination or resentment. He couldn't tell. Out of all the personnel that Vincent could have chosen to train as a Leavitt, Haranu was the most elusive to peg. She was pleasant, charismatic and often spontaneously helpful but didn't seem to have any strong opinions on orders she was issued. So while she didn't have leadership qualities she could get others to do things for her as easily as if she were. Perhaps it was her way with words...

o0o

"I understand you will be accompanying us back to Cosmo Canyon." The russet haired pseudo-child, held Viturin's hand and looked up to their escort with a gentle smile.

Shelke had learnt to relax and ease out of her military role since leaving the Tsviets. However she seemed constantly ready to defer to the WRO military structure as well. Old habits die hard it seems.

"Yes Miss Rui. It does seem I will be joining you." Bayan finished putting the rest of her sparse effects in a bag, preparing for at least 2 weeks off WRO-base. "I'd be very interested in seeing the communication set-up you and Kazi have been working on there. He's told me much about it."

"Communication array set-up?" Viturin asked. Eyes formerly dull peeking with interest.

The clone turned to the other young girl holding his own with a very faint expression of curiosity. A far cry from his usually expressionless face.

"Yes Viturin. Standard Deepground interfacing with modifications."

The older woman had finished packing. She watched the two who she endearingly thought of as the 'oddballs', banter with vocabulary outside of what their ages indicated. They were talking about Cid's first launched satellite which had been almost a years ago. The pilot had successfully gotten one out in space, increasing the range of communication between continents. Whereas before Cellphones were limited to between the Western Continent, Mideel and Northern. The Eastern continent and Wutai had been on a separate communication set. Cosmo Canyon had become somewhat of an intercection. Not only a repository of knowledge but of communication as well. The two 'oddballs' seemed to get along fairly well. Bantering in the robotic manner that was normal for them. If getting along was even relevant for Viturin. The boy was practically a robot. All automated responses, completely predictable. Bayan drew her long-nailed hand through her hair. A stunted growth girl with a stunted growth boy. And she was to be babysitting the two... how cute.

"You two make quite the couple."

"Wha...what do you mean?" Shelke's blue eyes widened.

Without thinking, the former Tsviet withdrew her hand from Viturin's and the clone looked confused for a moment. Identifying the source of loss and tracing it back to the comment made by Bayan. As a computer; Locate, determine response, deploy. Bayan noticed the thought process clicking in his mind as plain as if he'd had it in neon colours over his head. He was so easy to read.

"Couple, definition; Two individual units of the same type or sort. A numerical connotation of few in numbers." The dark haired young teenage Vincent look-alike stared pointedly from Shelke then back down at himself and lifted his gaze up to Bayan.

"Elucidate." He said it as an order.

Obviously irritated by not understanding Shelke's embarrassment. Bayan couldn't help it, she laughed. The young Tsviet turned to the clone as well, her lips twitching and eventually she couldn't hold her own.

"Oh Viturin, I'm just teasing. You are almost the same as when Shelke joined the WRO." The older woman composed herself as best she could, drawing herself up she placed a hand on both Shelke and Viturin, prompting them to turn and move in the direction of the airship hanger.

"Same." Viturin simply stated, as if the answer sufficed.

The young girl smiled gently up towards Bayan, exchanging a pleased sort of understanding with her and then back at the clone.

"Yes Viturin. Very much like myself." The near-redhead conceded.

She eyed the older woman who, despite her youthful appearance was almost a decade older than herself. stunt-growth included. A brief momentary pang of sorrow wormed its way into Shelke's heart at the thought that Bayan was about the same age as her older sister would have been...

The ride itself over the Ocean was uneventful. Bayan received additional information. The Turks, Tseng and Elena were ging to be investigating Gongaga for any clues and would keep in touch with her. The brunette sighed and mumbled to herself in her native wutain tongue, lamenting the fact that she was being extracted from the city-sides where she felt more comfortable to, for better words, the countryside. She was a city-girl and her investigation were more appropriate to the urban rather than the rural. Tapping her fingers on the Shierra's desk in her cabin, the elder Leavitt ran through her mind the steps and things to check and go through once she was in Cosmo Canyon.

1-Secure the premise.

Emeric would no doubt want Vincent Valentine's younger clone back. Especially if he had gone through the trouble of creating the thing in the first place and doubly-so now that they knew its... 'his'... capabilities. Bayan sighed and scratched her head, correcting herself. The whole thing was so convoluted. Viturin was practically a few weeks old for all intents and purposes.

2-Facilitate the testing that would be done on Viturin

There was undoubtedly a reason Emeric needed Viturin. The older clone had done some damage to 's genome by biting him. Enough so that her superior had had trouble reverting back to his human form. At least that is what she'd gathered from his former members of AVALANCHE here and there. She doubted any of the other Leavitt knew much about what had happened to their leader. She made it her job to know, however passing on this information was on a need-to-know basis for the others. She doubted Reeve wanted her to divulge such sensitive information to her own colleagues. If Emeric had the ability to produce Deepdogs, Viturin may have this as well. Better safe than sorry to test Elder Nanaki's theory.

3-Investigate the materials being purchased or moved in between Gongaga, Cosmo and Nibelheim.

There were only very few places that could host a lab and produce the necessary instruments to create cloning vats. Gongaga has the mako and materia infuser's industry. Cosmo Canyon specialized in glass panel and blowing. Nibelheim was circuitry and basic mechanical parts along with it's northernmost neighbour Rocket Town. Since Tseng and Elena had Gongaga covered, she would cover the rest she supposed.

Bayan's mental-notes done, she picked up a minute shift in the way the engines purred. They were probably getting ready to land. The pilot was very busy and couldn't stick around the Canyon more than was necessary and so the older woman got her stuff once more and ready to dock.

o0o

Kazi was busy writing his report when Vincent Valentine appeared in the hospital's room. The older man briefly glanced at the other's legs. Not wrapped in any cast, yet swaddled in clean linens and showing a bit of blood which had soaked through. The Ex-Turk sighed in relief. Not broken then, simply bruised and left to heal on its own. Cure materia held preciously for major operations and wounds, Kazi would take a while to recover.

"Here for my debriefing sir ?" The redhead finished penning a line and put aside his writing material.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Kazi Harding seemed the picture perfect of professionalism and on his way towards overworking himself. Even Vincent thought that he may be too much, however... the guilty notion crossed his mind that both Reeve and himself were the same. He frowned minutely at the self-made revelation, shrugging it off he grabbed a chair, making himself comfortable.

"Of course." His voice evenly solemn and patient.

The young man's eyes rolled to the upper of his eyelid, going through recollection of past events. "Hmm.. were to start."

o0o


End file.
